Anni Dewani: Honeymoon Murder and the Corruption at the Heart of South Africa

[00:00:02] You've got a country presenting this illusion that crime was no longer an issue to tourists. But Adam, just five days later, Anni's body would be found in the back of an abandoned taxi on the edge of a township. It looked very much like this man had brought his new wife to South Africa to have her killed as a way for him to escape this arranged marriage. And are we saying that he was a closeted homosexual?

[00:00:29] That is what the South African police are trying to say. But Adam, Shirin was found not guilty. Did they miss a crucial opportunity to find justice for Anni and her family? Or was this an attempt to pin the murder on a foreign national in order to protect South African tourism? But if they're the 82nd most corrupt country in the world, I wouldn't put it past them.

[00:01:24] Welcome to The Compendium, an assembly of fascinating things. A weekly variety podcast that gives you just enough information to stand your ground at any social gathering. We explore stories from the darker corners of true crime, the hidden gems of history, and the jaw-dropping deeds of extraordinary people. I'm Kyle Risi, your ringmaster for this week's episode. And I'm Adam Cox, your stand-in dolphin for this week. Where's the dolphins? He's off sick. And so I've had to grab a costume, get in line, and do some tricks.

[00:01:54] Dolphins wear costumes? Well no, but I don't look like a dolphin. Yeah, but you're standing in for a dolphin. Yeah, so I've had to put on a dolphin costume. Oh I see. And I'm swimming and I'm like jumping through hoops. It's good that we have you on the payroll. Hmm, exactly. We'd have to refund some tickets. We could just get another dolphin trainer. No. And where is he? If he's sick, where is he? He's out back. Margaret, get the shotgun!

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[00:03:16] There's also some other words. Entrepiana. Which I don't know if it's that one. But I like Los Ingles. Sounds dirty. But yeah, that's my Spanish for the week. And lastly, guys, please follow us on your favourite podcast app and leave us a review. Your support helps us find others like yourself that love a good tale of the unexpected. So enough of the housekeeping. Today, on the compendium, we are diving into an assembly of a honeymoon stained by blood

[00:03:43] and a scandal carved into history. Ooh. Honeymoon stained by blood. Clearly, someone got married and then someone died. Yeah. Sadly. And it's a shocking case we're covering today, Adam. So you know, to begin with, that we've both been to South Africa. I've taken you to the country of my people. That's right, people! I am both Italian and South African. When you want to be. When it's convenient. Yeah.

[00:04:09] When I want to play the South African don't oppress me card and the I'm too lazy because I'm half Italian. That kind of thing. You know? What did you think of South Africa? It was alright. No. Seriously? I really liked it. Not only were the food portions huge. Yeah. They're nice to eat. It was a beautiful country. That is it. Definitely, it's the beauty of the country. I mean, you've got Cape Town with Table Mountain towering over the city. You've got the rolling vineyards of Stellenbosch.

[00:04:36] And of course, where we've been, the game reserves in the Kruger National Park where we of course went on that famous safari where it was so bloody hot. The only way to keep cool was to tell the driver to just not stop the vehicle. Yeah. Otherwise, because the second it stopped, we were just hit with this wall of just heat. Yeah. But you missed out downtown Johannesburg where we were scared to get out of the car. What do you mean downtown Johannesburg? We went to a museum.

[00:05:03] And I remember like, there was like wire fences and stuff like that wherever we went. That's not downtown Johannesburg. No, was it not? No, that was Soweto. No. That was a township. It was somewhere else. Do you mean we went to Sandton City? Maybe. No, no, no. This was, I'm sure we went to Johannesburg to look at a museum. The apartheid museum. Oh, maybe. In Soweto. Oh, okay. An historic township in South Africa. It was a while ago.

[00:05:31] Adam, trust me, I promise you, if you went into downtown Johannesburg, hey, actually, it's pretty cool. They've got the Ponty Tower there as well, which is famously where they filmed Judge Dredd. Oh, really? Yeah. They used that same building. And basically, it's like a donut, but it's a skyscraper. I think at one point, it was like the tallest residential skyscraper in the Southern Hemisphere. But because it became really run down during the 1990s, a lot of impoverished people moved in. And that donut shape in the middle just ended up becoming just stacked and stacked full

[00:06:01] of rubbish. There were rumors that there were bodies hidden in there because a lot of gangs and drug dealers kind of ended up moving in. But it's now fashionable again. And people are now paying top dollar to live in Ponty Tower again. Oh, really? If you guys get a moment, definitely Google Ponty Tower in Johannesburg. It's an iconic building, but make sure that you get to see what's in the center. It's just incredible. It's a sight to behold. Because I'm wondering if at some point during the day, the sun gets to a point where it's

[00:06:29] shining down the center of the actual tower itself. Like directly above it? I feel like that's probably quite rare. There must be like one or two times a year where that's probably possible. Yeah. But of course, Adam, for all its beauty, it is safe to say that South Africa is not a country that you want to fuck around in. Because it is dangerous. It's not like living here in the UK. You most definitely cannot walk out in the streets at night. And it's not uncommon for houses in South Africa to literally have 12 foot barbed wide

[00:06:58] fences and if you really fancy an electric fence. So you'll probably remember as a tourist when we visited some of the rules that you had to follow in order to make sure that you stayed safe. Because if you don't, of course, someone will actually rob you or even murder you for your Power Rangers backpack. God forbid. I didn't take it out with me. I was too scared. What were some of those rules? Do you remember? Well, don't get out of your car. Ever. Not even when you arrive at your destination. Do not get out. You stay there until you need to go home.

[00:07:28] No. If you're at a traffic light or something like that to have your doors locked because people could jump in and hijack you, don't stop in the middle of a road where there is a sign that says hijacking is highly likely. Yeah. We see these signs where it says, oh, there might be deer around. So after you get, oh, there might be some hijackings around. And I remember we drove past the sign thinking, what? That's really strange. And then we drove past a load of glass on the floor and it's like, oh, no, it does happen.

[00:07:58] And the thing is, though, people looking in might feel like South Africans are just being too paranoid. But Adam, these rules exist for a reason. South Africa's homicide rate is seven times higher than the USA and 30 times higher than here in the UK. It's also the rape capital of the world. I remember as a kid, me and my friend Rion, we were playing in this utility field on our BMXs. And we just noticed like a group of domestic workers, they'd all kind of gathered the edge of the field.

[00:08:24] And then suddenly from this group, one of the men started dragging one of the women in that group into the tall grass. And she was begging him not to. She was crying. She was trying to resist. And he just kept dragging her in. And me and Rion, we just started freaking out. And the only thing that we knew to do was run to the local petrol station because literally days before it had been robbed at gunpoint. So we knew there was a security guard there stationed waiting and guarding the place. So we flagged them down. We told them what was going on.

[00:08:52] They sort of rolled their eyes at us, but they did follow us around the back to take a look. And then as we approach out of the grass jumps this guy frantically pulling up his trousers and he starts sprinting down the road. Eventually, he literally falls in the street because his trousers trip him up. And there in the grass was this woman that he was essentially attacking. Wow. Adam, this was in the middle of the day. So South Africa is a rough place. Make no mistake.

[00:09:18] And yet as a country, it is just one of the most beautiful, vibrant cultural places in the world. It just so exists in this weird paradox of breathtaking beauty, but also extreme brutality. Yeah. Like I think one of my friends, they went to Cape Town and they would say they'd walk along some promenade and it would be like really beautiful. But then just a few streets along, you've then got people who are homeless. And that was almost like a side that was made for tourists is what she felt.

[00:09:47] And then actually deeper as you go along. Yeah. Actually, there's more to discover. That's right. Yeah. And you're probably referring to the townships where a lot of the poor majority of South Africans actually live and call home. But Adam, the thing is in 2010, South Africa had a chance to change this global perception because for the first time in history, the FIFA World Cup was coming to South Africa and it was pegged to be this huge economic opportunity for the country.

[00:10:16] One that was so important to maintain long after the games are gone. Right. So in preparation, South Africa undertook one of the largest security operations in its history. They coordinated various ministry departments, including the police, the military intelligence agencies, and basically reformed legal frameworks to be tougher on crime. And I'll be it. Obviously, a lot of these measures came with a much darker side because thousands of people ended up being displaced in the process.

[00:10:43] But in the end, the World Cup went off without a hitch. The games gave the world the Vuvuzuela. Do you remember that? Is that I wasn't quite sure if it was Argentina that came from or whatever. No, that was South Africa. I remember like hearing or watching football matches and you just hear that noise. It's like, what the hell is that? Vuvuzuela, baby. And basically the games it showcased our rich culture and throughout there was just all this excitement and chaos. And in the end, in my opinion, was one of the most memorable World Cups in history.

[00:11:13] Is it because Shakira sang the theme tune? Because Shakira sang the theme tune. That is exactly right. But also I'm extremely proud of my South African kind of heritage, if you will. Heritage. Is a heritage my South African dwellings? Dwellings. And of course, after the games, as a result, tourism across the country boomed. People from all over the world were seduced by the allure and the culture and the beauty that they were seeing on television.

[00:11:39] But Adam, the reality is that when the World Cup finished, this coordinated effort to reduce crime literally just slipped away as funding ended up drying up. Crime started rising again. The games were essentially just a band-aid and it was now slipping off. South Africa is also one of the most corrupt countries on the planet. I think it's like ranked like 82nd on the global index for corruption. Out of how many? What, 200? Well, like 208 countries. And this is something that has always been part of its fabric, right? Ever since I can remember.

[00:12:08] And this goes all the way to the top. You hear stories like the National Police Commissioner and the president of Interpol at the time. He ended up going to prison for taking bribes from drug dealers in exchange for like confidential police documents. But even at the street level, a third of all corruption complaints about police involve bribery of some kind where like officers will routinely stop motorists for no reason and then like demand a thousand rand in order to let them go. Otherwise they were going to charge you with something.

[00:12:34] This all sounds pretty bad, but for them to be like 82nd out of all the other countries, then what are the other countries like? Exactly. I think the top one for corruption is like Argentina, as you said, I think. Really? Okay. Yeah. So you've got the situation of a country basking in this glow of a successful World Cup, trying to present this illusion that crime was no longer an issue to tourists. And it's a problem that South African authorities had to grapple with firsthand when in November 2010,

[00:13:01] just a few months after the World Cup, Shri-Yen and Annie Dawani arrived in South Africa for their honeymoon. And they were able to survive their lives together. But Adam, just five days later, Annie's body would be found in the back of an abandoned taxi on the edge of a township, infamously known for its gun violence and poverty. And as this story exploded onto the global stage, South Africa announced that they would be committing

[00:13:29] to bringing whoever did this to justice to ensure the world that they could be confident that South Africa would not be soft on crime, especially towards its international tourists. To the relief of the South African authorities, though, they discovered that this wasn't a hijacking gone wrong. They'd asserted that it was in fact a contract killing ordered by Shri-Yen Dawani himself against his wife.

[00:13:54] They managed to prove through CCTV footage, phone records, cash exchanging hands, and most importantly, the testimonies and confessions of the gunman that Shri-Yen had contracted to kill his wife. Have you heard of this story before? It rings a bell. To be honest, I forgot that we're talking about like a horrors or like a... You thought this was a South African history lesson. Yeah, you started off with the honeymoon thing and then we just started talking about South Africa for ages and I just thought, oh, okay. I'm just here for the ride. Yeah.

[00:14:23] I was setting it up. I was trying to paint a picture of how important the tourism industry is to South Africa and how this case went broke in 2010 rocked their confidence that South Africa was heading in the right direction of reducing its crime, right? Mm-hmm. Gotcha. But I think I remember something on the news about this. Yeah, the husband got found out for orchestrating the kill, but I don't really remember much more than that.

[00:14:48] Well, when this story exploded into the world's media, it was literally everywhere, like newspapers, news channels, gossip columns, everyone just seemed to be gripped by this. The story was that a wealthy British man had come to South Africa to use the country's violent reputation as a cover for the murder of his wife. The skies essentially has a hijacking gone wrong. But the question the world wanted to know, Adam, was why. The South African authorities claimed that it was because Chiren was gay and that he wanted to escape his arranged marriage

[00:15:17] so that he could live his life as a widower without the undue pressure from his family to remarry. Okay. Adam, I remember when the story broke. It was shocking. When Chiren's case finally went to trial four years later in October 2014, it became painfully obvious how flawed the prosecution case actually was. Evidence basically wasn't presented, facts were taken completely out of context, and even basic procedures in forensics simply did not happen in this case.

[00:15:47] And as a result, Chiren was found not guilty for conspiring to murder his wife. Are you telling me that there was a court case where police overlooked some evidence? Yes! Oh my God, this must be one of the first things that's ever happened. So people, of course, around the world wanted to know why the South African authorities case was so badly put together, considering that they had four years to prepare. Was this due to incompetence?

[00:16:12] And as a result, did they miss a crucial opportunity to find justice for Annie and her family? I bet the police people were like, yeah, I'll get round to it just now. Or was this a poor attempt to pin the murder on a foreign national in order to protect South African tourism? And so, Adam, we finally come to the topic of today's story.

[00:16:36] Today, on the compendium, I'm going to tell you about the horrific murder of Annie Dawani, the case South African authorities brought against her husband, Shiren Dawani, and the possibility that it was never about justice, but a plot to protect the South African brand. That was a long-ass intro. I had to set it up. I had to let you know about the World Cup. And what me and Rion got up to. Yeah, that was a little trip down memory lane.

[00:17:07] Is it too long? Should we cut it in post? We'll see. We'll see what stays. Okay. But you understand what I'm trying to get at here, right? This massive story that kind of broke into the press in 2010, it looked very much like on the international stage that this man had brought his new wife to South Africa to have her killed as a way for him to escape being part of this arranged marriage. And that's what a lot of people believe, even today.

[00:17:30] Because when he was found not guilty, there were serious questions about why they'd foiled this case so badly. And when you look at the kind of the geopolitical kind of backdrop in which this case took place, it seems like there was a lot of corruption going on and that actually South Africa wanted to protect its tourism industry. Well, if they're the 82nd most corrupt country in the world, I wouldn't put it past them. Exactly.

[00:17:54] But Adam, I am going to the story a little bit sceptical because I do not really know for sure whether or not Shirendwani did this or did not contract his wife's murder. When I first read the story, I was 100% convinced that he did it. But revisiting this years later, I'm probably now maybe 80% sure that he did not do this. But that still leaves 20%. Okay, that's quite a big swing.

[00:18:22] And so today, Adam, on this episode, we are going to recount what happened in the story. We're going to see if the facts bring us to a different conclusion. Because you never know, your insights might make me flip again and I might go straight back to believing that he did this. To be honest, I reckon I can probably solve this. So crack on and I'll let you know at the end. But when we do go through this, what we will find is that a lot of the facts from the prosecution's case were taken out of context. So at face value, they might seem really damning.

[00:18:51] But then there are also times where the facts just show that there's no way that Shirendwani could have done this at all. So the key questions we're going to be trying to answer today are, did Shirendwani kill his wife? Or was it something else entirely? And how much did corruption and police incompetence play into the story? And are we saying that he was a closeted homosexual? That is what the South African police are trying to say, basically. And do we know for sure?

[00:19:17] We will look at the actual facts of this and we'll see whether or not it's true or not. Okay. So, as always, the best place to start is at the very top. I'm going to tell you a bit about Annie Dawani and her relationship with Shirendwani. So Annie and her family, they are of Indian heritage. She was born and raised in Sweden. Before Annie was born, her father had started up an electrical company, which he then later sold. And so Annie was essentially born into a fairly well-off family.

[00:19:44] Annie has a lot of opportunities growing up, as well as being extremely beautiful. She's also academically gifted and she even earns herself a degree in engineering. And by the time our story starts, she was actually working as a project manager for Ericsson. Overall, Annie was beautiful. She was well-adjusted and from a very, very close-knit, nurturing, loving family, Adam. She met Shirendwani in November 2009 through a mutual friend of theirs.

[00:20:11] And at the time, Shirendwani was working as an accounting consultant for Deloitte in London. He himself is extraordinarily wealthy. So after they met, the couple started dating and by June 2010, they were engaged. So Adam, it's pretty damn quick. That's just six months, right? Yeah, a whirlwind romance. This is where we actually debunk the first myth around the story. Because in the early reportings of this case, it was said that Annie and Shirendwani were heading into an arranged marriage. And this just isn't true at all.

[00:20:41] And it was probably born out of what the prosecution were trying to claim. But it's also likely due to just lazy sensationalist journalism. And it wasn't really kind of aggressively corrected later on. Is it just like a sweeping assumption based on their sort of background? That's exactly what it is. Because it was a factor that kind of fed neatly into the narrative that Shirendwani murdered his wife, right? So the assumptions that they made were based on certain aspects. And this idea was just further reinforced by the fact that they were both Asian.

[00:21:09] They'd met, got engaged and all married within literally 18 months, which sounds like a short time. But really, when you think about it, I think that's a completely acceptable range of time to know someone before you get married. I disagree. But it's not like this is just exclusive to Asian people. And anyone can do this. So maybe it's a little bit fast, sure. But it's nothing really to raise an eyebrow about.

[00:21:34] But it is also true that Annie was openly expressing concerns about the marriage before they even got married. And it was about Shirendwani himself. She was telling family and friends that he was just overly controlling. So all those things combined are suggestive of a lot. They suggest a motive for wanting Annie dead without ever saying outright what that motive was. But the reality was that this wasn't an arranged marriage. They had met and fallen in love all on their own accord.

[00:22:01] And things just so happened to quote unquote move fairly quickly in their relationship. It is, however, true that the relationship had its hesitations. When I was researching this, I got the sense that most of these hesitations stem from the fact that Annie and Shirendwani didn't live together until like a few months before their wedding. Right. Annie lived in Sweden, remember, with her family and where her job was. So for a time, their relationship was essentially a long distance one, splitting their time between Sweden and the UK.

[00:22:29] And it is true that Shirendwani was extremely methodical and process driven. Everything in his business life was rigorously planned and controlled. He's described a lot as being a perfectionist. That's a big thing that we hear in this story. But it's also probably true to say that these were qualities that Annie really admired about him. And also, I'd say the flip side of that is he could probably come across as controlling.

[00:22:51] What she probably didn't count on was that when they first moved them together, this perfectionism could spill over potentially into their personal life and become difficult for her to adjust. So to Annie, what she once saw as perfectionism in his business life became controlling in their personal life. Do you know what I mean? So depending on how you see it and how it's affecting you, something very positive could actually be turned into a negative. Because perfectionism and controlling, they're the same thing, just seen from different angles. Yeah, if we met Monica Geller in real life, I don't know if we would get on with her.

[00:23:20] No, we, I would. I would. I like her. But do we know actually what evidence is there that he was controlling? Is there anything that's said or was it just like from conversations she had with friends and family? It's mostly from conversations that she'll have with friends and family which we'll get onto. But also, he is a high powered businessman and everything in their lives is regimented. In fact, a lot of their honeymoon and their wedding, it's his planning. I see. So this kind of worries her, especially with the wedding just a few months away.

[00:23:50] In the lead up, she starts telling family and friends that she didn't think the relationship was going very well at all. She describes her in as stiff and difficult. And this eventually evolves into her expressing actual regrets about their engagement and fears about them getting married. So in some texts, she even says she hates him. And so on the face of it, this doesn't feel like it's just standard cold feet, does it? No, it doesn't at all. She seems like, you know, she's thinking of an exit plan or something. So what was going on for her to say that? Because it doesn't sound like it's all rosy.

[00:24:19] The thing is, her family and friends, they do their best to reassure her. And they say to her that once you're married, everything will settle down. And they remind her that she and Sheeran were just still adjusting to living together after being apart for literally most of their relationship, right? Well, that sounds like the worst advice. It does. Why would you get married so quickly? Just actually live together for a bit. There might be some cultural aspect to that as well. OK. Basically, what they're saying is these are just quirks that you just have to learn to navigate around.

[00:24:49] Like when you first move in with someone, you learn their annoying habits. Now, listen, it is tricky because what they were saying was probably right. But also this could easily be seen as like a major red flag that everyone was downplaying. Yeah, I get maybe from an outsider. That's the kind of thing you'd say to reassure like, yeah, we'll be fine. But the fact that they lived separately or in different countries and probably didn't spend a huge amount of time consistently, whether they live together or not, just makes me feel like they shouldn't have. They should have slowed her down.

[00:25:19] Yeah. No, I agree with that. But at the end of the day, Annie is a pragmatic woman. At this point, she's 28 years old. She thought that her parents and her friends were probably right. But she also recognised that there were family politics to consider here too. For example, the wedding was already planned. The money has already been spent. And she had uprooted her entire life to move to the UK. And so she agreed that she just needed a little bit more time to settle after such a whirlwind of an engagement, basically.

[00:25:46] And so Adam, in October 2010, Annie and Shiren, they get married in this lavish three day Bollywood style wedding in Mumbai. It costs £150,000. And Adam, it just looks incredible. Super colourful, tons of jewellery, fabulous clothing, multiple outfit changes across dozens of different events. It's just spectacular. Isn't it crazy that much money on a party?

[00:26:11] But the thing is, though, is it a lot of money to someone like them who are both really successful and they come from really successful families? It's probably like hardly anything. It's probably the equivalent of spending 20 grand. I guess. But just things I could do with that money. Yes. But if you can spend $150,000 on a wedding, you probably have a lot more where that came from. I see. It's relative. And Adam, when you look at the photographs, they seem to really be in love. And this is an interesting thing that you often see dissected on true crime forums after like a tragedy strikes.

[00:26:40] People suggest, like, it's always the couples projecting the most perfect, idyllic life who's secretly falling apart behind closed doors. Do you know what I mean? In that framing, the wedding photos, they just become the capstone, the supposed proof of the facade, the rushed engagement, the false assertion of the arranged marriage, her doubts about his controlling nature. All of this kind of seems to be written in their smiles when they see their beautiful, blissful, truly in love photographs.

[00:27:08] Heinstein's a wonderful thing is basically what people are saying. Why are they expecting like an episode of EastEnders? Yeah. Like with somebody slapped around the face, throwing the wedding cake on the floor. Yeah. Is that too much to ask? Yeah. So immediately after the wedding, Annie is expecting things to start feeling better between them. Instead, for a moment, it seems like it actually gets worse. Because just days before the honeymoon, again, she confides in her family that she doesn't want to go to South Africa.

[00:27:35] Again, it comes back to Shiren being this perfectionist and having this controlling personality. She even goes as far as saying just days after the wedding, Adam, that she wants a divorce. Oh, wow. So I don't know if she's even communicating any of this to Shiren. Well, it doesn't sound like it. Is she pretending everything's okay? But I feel like that's probably quite difficult to do. She probably wasn't herself. So he must have known something was up. Yeah, I don't know.

[00:28:01] I know that there are, and we haven't covered that in this, but there have been difficult conversations that they've had to have, especially about their future and having kids and things like that. My point is that she's not someone who would shy away from a difficult conversation. So I wouldn't be surprised if she has had these conversations. Have they fallen on deaf ears or something like that? I don't know. Let's go further into the story and see what you think.

[00:28:23] Because despite all of this, on the 9th of November, 2010, Annie and Shiren, they jet off on their honeymoon to South Africa. And they start off at a luxury safari resort in the Kruger National Park. And again, when they arrive, immediately Annie texts her parents saying, He's a nice guy, but I just do not feel happy at all. And so her parents are a little bit concerned now, right? She's now on her honeymoon. They want her to be happy. Do you understand what I mean? So there's that concern now.

[00:28:52] They've jetted halfway around the world and she's still miserable. I know, but if she said this for like several months leading up to it. And they're still not listening. And they're going, oh, this doesn't seem like her. Maybe you should have listened maybe the first 50 times. Maybe. But Adam, things start to turn because the very next day she sends another text. And this time it says, it's getting better. It's hard to explain. I'll call you when I'm back. And it's immediately followed up by another text that says, I hate the word divorce.

[00:29:21] What does that even mean? I think because she was considering potentially wanting a divorce in one of her previous texts. She's now saying, do you know what? Divorce is not the right way. It's not part of my core beliefs. It's not really what I want. And actually, I'm seeing a glimmer of hope between our relationship. I think I can work on this. She's now probably thinking, my parents are probably right. I'm now seeing it for what it is. Let's just see how things go. Okay.

[00:29:47] So on the 12th of November, with things apparently going well, Annie and Shiren, they fly to Cape Town for the second leg of the honeymoon. Sadly, Adam, within 30 hours of landing, Annie will be murdered. When they arrive at the airport, they're going to be staying at a very fancy hotel called the Cape Grace Hotel. It's right on the waterfront. It's got views of Table Mountain in the background with the ocean views ahead of them. It's very fancy.

[00:30:12] And it's most certainly a hotel that would have offered them some kind of shuttle service to get from the airport to the hotel when they confirm their booking. Right. And Shiren planned all of this. So he would have known this. Right. And he's a perfectionist. But for whatever reason, he has not prearranged a shuttle. This is actually the first thing that casts this cloud of suspicion over him, especially considering, as I said, he is a perfectionist.

[00:30:38] Because by not getting yourself a shuttle in South Africa, there are real dangers to just jumping into any random taxi. Like the driver might not have had the right permits or he could literally just rob the shit out of you. This is South Africa. You just do not do these types of things. Yeah. So why has he done this? So with no shuttle prearranged, Shiren approaches a seemingly random taxi driver by the name of Zola Robert Tongo. Tongo is 30 years old.

[00:31:06] He has no prior convictions apart from one for driving his taxi without a permit, which again, this is South Africa. If you don't at least have one conviction for not having the correct permit, can you honestly say that you're a taxi driver? The answer is no. You have at least five. Exactly. Tongo will later become the prosecution's star witness, testifying that Shiren had paid him to arrange Annie's execution. Tongo agrees to take Annie and Shiren to the Cape Grace Hotel.

[00:31:33] When they arrive safely, Annie goes inside to check in. Shiren, however, stays in the taxi to have a chat with Tongo. The thing to know about taxi drivers in South Africa, especially around heavily tourist areas, is that they literally do it all, right? Not only will they shuttle you to your hotel, but it's very, very common for them to become your dedicated driver throughout your entire trip. Right. They will arrange your excursions for you on your behalf. They will give you suggestions.

[00:31:59] Basically, you exchange numbers and then they become your go to for tourist advice, essentially. Yeah, makes sense. Tongo says that this is not the conversation that he had with Shiren. Instead, Shiren asked him if he can help take somebody off the scene as in kill them. Right. So let's unpack that for a second. You've just met a random taxi driver 25 minutes ago, and you were already asking him if he can organise a contracted hit on your behalf.

[00:32:28] That's not even enough time to make small talk, let alone gauge if you can trust the stranger enough to kill somebody for you on your behalf. I mean, it's pretty quick, but this, I don't know. Shiren, he moves fast. But then is he, has he heard something on the grapevine? Does he think that everyone's just corrupt anyway? So even he could brush it off. If someone says, what? He goes, I'm joking or something. I see what you're saying. Hmm. Interesting. Tongo apparently says he refuses, which is weird enough response anyway for a regular person.

[00:32:57] Hey, Adam, can you help me kill someone? You'd be like, oh, no, I can't do that. Sorry. You'd be like, what the fuck? Depends how he refuses. If he, is he doing that or is he going, no, I can't help you? No, because he tells Shiren that he could call someone in the township who may be able to help. That's okay. Okay. So he's willing to... Did you say that's okay? I said that's okay. But that was too sad. That's comma, okay. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, that's okay. Here's the thing again, right?

[00:33:26] Tongo has no idea who Shiren is, right? For all he knows, Shiren could be a cop. Do cops, are they undercover taxi drivers? Famously, if you ask somebody if they're a cop and they're a cop, they by law have to say yes, they are. Okay. No, they don't. Oh, really? That's from Breaking Bad. Is it? Yeah. Do you remember when they do the drug deal and that like really skinny guy from Big Bang Theory plays Leonard's druggie cousin? And he's like sitting on a bench and he's like, hey, you got any drugs? And he's like, how do I know you're not a cop?

[00:33:53] And he's like, well, did you know that if you're speaking to a guy and you suspect they're a cop and you ask them if they're a cop and if they are a cop, by law, they have to say whether or not they're a cop or not. And the guy's like, well, are you a cop? And he's like, no, man. He's like, okay, great. And he gives him the drugs. And then he was like, put your hands up, motherfucker, because it was a lie. He tricked him. I thought about it. That wouldn't really work well for any police that are on deep undercover, like in some kind of infiltrating some gangsters. And they ask him and they're like, I'm going to have to tell you now. But the thing is, though, it is weird.

[00:34:23] He doesn't know if he's a cop and he's just straight away said, I'll see what I can do. Yeah, he seems very helpful. Can you show me where the best restaurants are? Can you take me to, I don't know, the beach tomorrow? Yeah. Can you take out my wife? Oh, God. Yeah, that's essentially what they're asserting has happened here. But regardless, according to Tonga's testimony, this is what happens. And I really struggle with this purely based on what we know about Shiren. Like, remember, Adam, he's a perfectionist. So he's asking a random person to kill his wife.

[00:34:53] It just seems like he's putting too much up to chance, if you will. I feel like he would have already arranged his wife's killer long before even arriving in South Africa. Yeah. Like on the dark web? Possibly. Because he spent all this money coming to South Africa, deliberately choosing this location according to the police. Or was he just... And yet he's leaving this bit up to chance. Yeah, I was just saying, but could he, because of all the crime, he could leave up to chance to make it look obviously like it was just spare of the moment that it wasn't planned.

[00:35:21] Because otherwise people would be able to tap probably his phone, whatever, if he was in another country planning this. And that would be the proof, right? The prosecution is going to later allege that he chose South Africa to disguise Annie's murder as a hijacking gone wrong, knowing the country's high crime rates and the poor crime resolution rate. So he is thinking that if I came here, I'd likely be able to get away with it. If that is true, then this is the level of planning that we are talking about here that he's undertaking.

[00:35:47] He's thought about that deeply and yet he's leaving the actual hiring of the killer to chance to the very last minute. I just think that just doesn't sound like him. Hmm. But at the same time, because he's a perfectionist and very methodical, could this be a sort of a double bluff? By arranging the killer face to face with no prior contact, is this him making sure that he doesn't leave a paper trail? That's exactly what I think it is. Like, Shirin will handle a lot of cash throughout this trip, right?

[00:36:15] Rather than using his credit cards or debit cards. So that possibly does back this theory up. Either way, the allegation is that Shirin Dewani is in this moment of time conspiring to commit murder with a taxi driver he has literally met moments ago in a foreign city. So after this conversation, Shirin heads inside to the reception area with Annie. After they check in, Shirin goes back outside and he continues this conversation with Tongo. Now, a conversation does happen.

[00:36:42] We can see that according to the CCTV and it lasts around about nine minutes. Shirin says that they were discussing hiring Tongo as a driver for the duration of their trip, as we said before. Taxi drivers in South Africa, they pretty much do way more than just shuttling you between the airport and the hotel. But according to Tongo, the conversation was about who Shirin wanted killed. And apparently it was a woman who was arriving that evening. And Tongo asked him how much he was willing to pay.

[00:37:10] And basically the exchange ended with Tongo saying that he would seek out a contact in the local township. So after this, Tongo then drives to the Colosseum Hotel to see a friend who he knows works on the reception desk. And his name is Monde Mblombo. We're just going to call him Mblombo. Basically Mblombo's role in all of this is that he is going to play the middleman. He is going to be the link between Tongo and the potential contract killer in the local township.

[00:37:37] After the murder, he will actually end up getting complete immunity from the police. So the thing that we want to do here is as we navigate through the story, we want to really pay attention to his behaviour and ask ourselves, does he actually deserve that immunity? Because at the end of the day, he's connected Tongo to the contract killer. I would say that's pretty damning. Does that deserve immunity? I don't think so. I think so. I know he can plead ignorance in terms of that. I just connected two people. I don't know what they were talking about.

[00:38:04] So when he gets to the Colosseum Hotel, footage shows Tongo and Mblombo talking outside. There's no audio, but according to Tongo, he tells Mblombo that Shirin is willing to pay 15,000 rand for a hit on a woman. Mblombo confirms that he knows someone in the local township who could do this, which is around 900 pounds. 900 pounds? Yeah. That doesn't... I mean, I know obviously people are poorer there. That does not seem like a lot. Like I was surprised that you can get a hit in the UK for 20 grand. Yeah.

[00:38:34] So 900 pounds? It seems ridiculous, right? Someone's life. The conversation lasts around two and a half minutes. So it is debatable whether or not that is enough time to discuss all of this, basically. Mblombo is then seen going back inside to the reception desk to get his phone. And then CCTV footage at the reception desks do have audio and it captures another employee asking Mblombo, what's going on out there?

[00:38:58] To which Mblombo laughs and replies, you don't want to know, before continuing to go back outside to Tongo. Now Adam, at face value, of course that could be seen as very incriminating, right? But at the same time, it could also be them talking about 100 other different things. Yeah, like... They're going out for a date with some girls, they're going to go score some drugs, whatever. Yeah. Yeah, it's not incriminating to know that at this point in time... In context that looks incriminating though, doesn't it? Yeah.

[00:39:27] So back outside in Mblombo is seen calling a man named, I can't pronounce his name, Miz-i-wam-a-doda? I'm sure that's wrong, but yeah. We're going to call him Wabe, because that's his surname. I was going to say, is that because it's his name? That's his name. So Kwabe. Kwabe, yeah. So Kwabe is the guy from the local township that they're going to connect Tongo with. He's a nasty guy, Adam. He has a history of violence offences, and on the call, according to Tongo, Kwabe agrees to take the job.

[00:39:54] When the call is done, Tongo and Mblombo are seen looking ridiculously pleased with themselves. They're smiling, they're laughing, they're doing like a little Chandler dance. And yeah, what do you think of that? Do you think it's strange that this is how you behave after arranging a murder? I don't know. Is this the first murder they've done? Maybe they enjoy it. They have no prior convictions. It seems obviously, yeah, they've got no prior convictions. That means they haven't necessarily not done anything bad. Being caught in a country that's very bad at crime resolution.

[00:40:23] So I don't know, maybe if you are like that, maybe you would do a dance. I don't know. But like I said, this conversation could have been about any number of things. I'm not sure if it looks like this is a setup to a contract killing. It didn't look like it when I was looking at the CCTV footage. Because it just seems so unlikely that Sheeran lands in Cape Town and lo and behold, the very first person that he connects with connects into a network of contract killers. I don't buy that. Even in South Africa, like South Africa is a notoriously dangerous place.

[00:40:51] But it's the speed and the efficiency in how this supposedly happens that just feels off to me. I feel like we need to try and test it. Not actually go through with it, but let's go to South Africa, get a taxi and just ask, do you know anyone that can, what was it, get rid of someone? I think no matter where you go in the world, vast majority of people are good people. The fact that he is tapped into a contract killer network just like that with the first person he speaks to, it's just not plausible to me. The point is, Adam, it is now 6.15pm.

[00:41:20] At the same time, Sheeran has just returned to the Cape Grace Hotel after exchanging £800 into South African rand. While he's out, he also purchases a single red rose for Annie. Again, strange behaviour for a man supposedly about to kill his wife. No? I guess so. You are being very sceptical tonight. Well, he... yeah. I don't know, like, I guess it depends if you're quite sadistic.

[00:41:47] Would you do all these things, go through this whole big charade? That's what I'm thinking. But if I take it at face value and he's not guilty, then obviously, well yeah, this isn't a sign of that. So let me get this straight. Right now you believe that he's done this? I think so, yeah. Okay, fine. A few minutes later, Annie calls her parents. They say to South African authorities, obviously, after everything has happened, that on the phone she sounded really weird on the call. She just wasn't herself.

[00:42:14] They don't elaborate much on this, unfortunately, but they just say that she just does not sound right. And her parents are obviously convinced that Sheeran ordered a contract kill on Annie. So I get how in hindsight they would reflect on this conversation and go, something fell off to us. But sadly, this phone call will actually be the last time they actually ever speak to her. At 6.40pm, Tongo arrives back home. Here he calls Kwabe. That's the guy that they phoned at the Coliseum.

[00:42:41] And Kwabe is going to be the first gunman in this crime. According to Kwabe, he and Tongo discuss the plan and how it should be made to look like a hijacking. And that the fee for the job was going to be 15,000 rand. This conversation alone lasts just 41 seconds. With Kwabe at the time of that 41 second call is another guy called Zoli Mgeni. He's actually going to be the second gunman in all of this.

[00:43:08] What is interesting is that the testimonies from Tongo, Mblombo and Kwabe all largely corroborate the claim that Sheeran hired them to kill Annie. Mgeni's testimony, that's the second gunman, his testimony never supports the other stories that Sheeran ordered to hit. Okay. What ties the three men who say that Sheeran did, is that each one of them took a plea deal from the South African authorities,

[00:43:36] trading a lighter sentence for a confession that Sheeran was the mastermind behind Annie's murder. Mgeni rejects this plea. And like I said, he does not corroborate what the others are saying. And the reason for this is that it was his bullet that eventually killed Annie. And under South African law, murder comes with an automatic life sentence. So no plea deal was ever going to change the fact that he was going to prison for life.

[00:44:05] And so no plea deal would give him an incentive to sign one. Right. Okay. So if he rejects the plea deal, then is he going to be want to be seen as a rat and therefore actually corroborate with their story? Or does it really matter to him because he's going to prison regardless? So he doesn't need to side with them. He is the guy who's murdered Annie. And his defense can't be that Sheeran put us up to this. His defense has to be that he was being used as a scapegoat by the others,

[00:44:33] all of whom were cutting deals in order to save themselves, pinning most of the serious blame on him. So his case rests entirely on the word of accomplices with all the incentive to lie, basically. Got you. And this is one of the most telling aspects about this case, right? It feeds into the story that the South African authorities were desperate to pin this murder on Sheeran as a way to protect the country's tourism industry.

[00:44:56] Either way, there is now an agreement between four men to allegedly carry out a contract kill on Annie Diwani. That's Tonga, the taxi driver, Mblombo, the receptionist and middleman, Kwabe, the first gunman, and Mngeni, the second gunman, whose bullet will ultimately kill Annie. And by the way, this plan has allegedly been arranged just hours after meeting Sheeran across two phone calls, one of which lasts 79 seconds and the other 41 seconds. So how long have they been in Cape Town?

[00:45:26] This is all the first day. This has been like three hours and now it's arranged. Wow, that is pretty quick going, which does seem quite fishy. Two phone calls. Yeah. 79 seconds, 41 seconds. That's all the interaction that they've had. I feel like it should take longer. 100%. That's my argument here. This doesn't seem right. But back at the Cape Grace Hotel, CCTV footage shows Annie and Shirin heading out for dinner at a sushi restaurant, just a short walk away from the hotel.

[00:45:53] The waitress who served them that night says that they didn't seem like a typical honeymoon couple. She says at one point she went over to the table and Shirin was gone. And Annie had apparently told her that he was off making a business call. In the footage, you literally see Annie just slump back in her chair, her arms are crossed. She's not happy about this, which is obviously understandable. This is her honeymoon. And her husband is just like nipped off to take a business call in the middle of dinner at night. Okay.

[00:46:20] I did think that this might have been kind of down to time zones, but remember it's on the same time zone as the United Kingdom, right? But he doesn't actually go and make a business call as he told Annie. At least not in the way that you would expect. He's actually gone to go get his phone, which he's left back in his hotel room, just a short walk away from the restaurant. When he gets his phone, he notices that he has a text from someone. He responds by calling them. It's Tongo.

[00:46:47] And they end up talking for five minutes and 26 seconds. According to Shirin, they were talking about tours and arranging times and dates, which honestly I understand, right? Like when we were in Morocco, we were in constant regular contact with our driver arranging meeting points and outing. So I get that. At what time of night this was there? Exactly. Nine o'clock. I feel like, okay, maybe you want to try and make as much money as you can, particularly when it's this kind of industry.

[00:47:14] But I feel like you probably would clock off, but perhaps he's driving at night. So maybe he's at work. Could be. Like I said, what is strange is the urgency as to why he left his honeymoon dinner at night to go off and confirm times and dates. Couldn't that have waited till morning or at least until when you were back at the hotel room? Sure. However, Tongo has a very different account of what that conversation consisted of. He says he texted Shireen to confirm that he had found someone willing to do the job and

[00:47:41] the call that followed was about the 15,000 rand fee. Mm hmm. So if what Tongo is saying actually happened, then Shireen's urgency suddenly makes sense, right? But he didn't have this phone on him though. Nope. He left. That's the other thing as well. If you were arranging the contract killing of your wife and the only way that you were communicating with those killers was through the mobile phone that you had, leaving your mobile phone in your bedroom. Anyone could have seen that. Turn down service could have come in.

[00:48:11] They could have seen their text. True. But I would have thought you'd want like a burner phone for something like this. Exactly. Where's the burner phone? But he's not using it. That's why I'm saying this seems odd. Yeah. After this, Shireen returns back to Annie. They finished in around 11 PM. They head back to the hotel. And as they approach their room, there is a really unfortunate piece of CCTV footage, especially considering what he is about to be accused of. You basically see him using both his hands as finger guns, pretending to shoot Annie.

[00:48:39] Annie doesn't seem to react to this, right? It's clearly lighthearted, but in context does not look good. He's kind of walking backwards and he's like laughing and joking. He's like, pow, pow, pow, pow. And she's just like closing her bag and rolling her eyes. Right. But in context of what he's been accused of. Is it someone like gloating about what's going to happen? Who knows? Yeah. I think that's what the police are trying to assert here. So now actually, Adam, we arrive at the day that Annie will sadly be murdered.

[00:49:08] That morning, they are both seen heading down for a late breakfast. During breakfast, Tongo tells police that Shireen had called him in a rush, asking him to pick him up at midday and to be taken to a money changer so he could get the money for the hit. Except there's no record of that call ever taking place. So there is a massive crack in his testimony straight away. This is one of the first ones and there'll be many of them. This just isn't supported by any evidence whatsoever.

[00:49:35] It's inconsequential because, Adam, they do end up meeting up, but it is a big detail for them to get wrong. Mm-hmm. Apparently, the South African authorities say that this inconsistency makes no difference to the case, considering obviously what happens next. Because 30 minutes later at midday, Tongo texts Shireen saying, I'm outside. And Shireen replies one minute later with, give me 10 minutes. And so they likely did arrange to meet, just not that morning as Tongo said,

[00:50:03] but probably the previous evening when they were having that five-minute phone call. Sure. But it's a big thing for Tongo to get wrong. Yeah. He called me this morning in a rush. He didn't. Yeah. Okay. So Shireen takes his time changing from pool wear into a golf shirt and trousers. In the CCTV footage, there's just no indication that he's in a rush, despite obviously Tongo's claims. He makes his way downstairs. He gets into the taxi. Tongo takes him to a black market money changer where Shireen changes $1,500 into R10,200.

[00:50:32] Now, if you add that to the money that he had changed earlier on when he bought Annie that single red rose, he is now carrying R21,500. That's more than enough money supposedly to pay for this kill. There is a major issue in this case because there is no evidence that money ever makes it into Tongo's, and Blombos, Kwabes or McNengi's hands. It just seems to vanish. So where is Annie at this point? Is she at the hotel? In this instance, she is at the hotel. Okay.

[00:51:01] And the money that he's just got never is seen again. It's not seen again. So after changing the money, Tongo then takes Shireen back to the hotel. He later tells police that during that 10 minute car ride, Shireen specified exactly how the hijacking should be carried out. According to Tongo, Shireen wanted him to pick both him and Annie up at 7.30pm that night. The plan was for Tongo to drive them into an ambush with the gunman.

[00:51:27] At that point, Shireen and Tongo were to be forced out of the vehicle, leaving Annie alone as the men sped off with her. From there, the gunman would then take her to a secluded spot, rob her at gunpoint and then kill her. And Shireen explained that Tongo would receive R5,000 for his part in all of this, while the gunman would be paid R15,000 once the job was done. That's horrendous. It's horrific, isn't it? Well, I guess the thing is, what I don't quite get about this is, okay, so the money disappeared,

[00:51:56] but could he have given the money to Tongo at that point when they went to get it? So that's why we never see it again, because he's got the money. And two, I thought Tongo didn't really want to be involved, yet he kind of is really. He's saying, I don't do that, but I'm willing to drive your wife to her death. Sure. Now, he did say very specifically, according to Tongo, so if Tongo's lying, then he's dug himself a bit of a hole, because he says that Tongo would receive R5,000 for his part, while the gunman would receive R15,000 once the job was done.

[00:52:25] So to give him the money in the car didn't make sense. Okay, sure. So apparently Tongo agrees to all of this, and he promises that he's going to meet with the gunman now, and then finalize the plans once everything was in order. So apparently this entire conversation, which leaves a hell of a lot to chance, all happens in a very tight 10 minute window while Tongo is driving. Even when they get back to the hotel, there's no lingering, right? CCTV footage captures Shiren getting out of the taxi immediately. So it's all done and dusted.

[00:52:55] Now, later, a UK inquest uncovered that Tongo's R5,000 payment, which is about £450, would be less than a third of his typical monthly salary. And yet, the South African authorities never question why someone would do that for a third of their monthly salary. Yeah, it just seems way too low. And why would you put yourself at risk for that little money? Exactly! Are you now coming around? But, what is the going rate in South Africa?

[00:53:24] What's really funny is that in court, the prosecution argued that the amount of money that Shiren was carrying with him on his person is the exact amount a contract kill typically costs in South Africa. What about 20,000? But the thing is, how do they know that? Is there a price list for contract killings in Cape Town? Because they do not provide any sources to back any of this up. They just go, yep, that's how much it costs around here. I bet we could find out on Google. But the point is that they don't back this up in court. Right. And it's part of the kind of the stupid prosecution case that they put together, right?

[00:53:53] They needed it to fit. They knew that Shiren had 21,500 Rand on his person, so they needed that number to fit the amount for a contract kill basically. In my opinion, I don't know, allegedly. So at this point, Shiren is now carrying 21,500 in cash on his person. And as I said, there's no trail of it anywhere following the murder. What happened to it? But equally, if he wasn't planning Annie's murder, what was the money for? Well, like to do stuff, I'm guessing.

[00:54:23] They're going for fancy meals. Maybe like it's 2010, right? So things are probably more cash than it was card back then. According to Shiren, the money was for a surprise helicopter ride that he was planning to take Annie on the next day at the Coliseum Hotel. And I think I believe him. Was there anything booked under his name? So I can't prove this, but this makes sense to me. I'm almost certain that five-minute call to Tongo the previous evening,

[00:54:53] remember when he left Annie to say he was making a business call, I think that was just a cover so that he could ask Tongo for ideas on a surprise excursion without Annie overhearing. Remember, they're on holiday. When we're on holiday, I cannot poot in peace. You're always there. I'm not like a dog that's just like scrappling at the door. My point is, is that you're in the same hotel room. You're always together. You're going out excursions together. You get very little private time.

[00:55:18] So him leaving the phone in his room was a perfect excuse for him to go. I need to make a business call. He can go off. He can make the surprise excursion. I see. I think that Tongo then suggested a helicopter ride at the Coliseum. Why the Coliseum? Tongo knows the Coliseum. He has friends who works at the Coliseum. He knows the staff there. And he also knows that the helicopter ride typically goes for 10,000 rand.

[00:55:42] And this is why he picked him up at noon so they could go and get the money for that helicopter ride. Okay, that makes sense. But I will admit it is odd that Shirin took out cash for the helicopter ride rather than paying by card, right? I totally get using cash when you're dealing with locals who are organizing excursions, especially like in 2010, right? Where small operations don't really take card. But this helicopter ride was being offered by the Coliseum Hotel. So they would most definitely have accepted card at the desk. Yeah, you'd think so.

[00:56:10] If that is true, why go through all their effort of leaving the hotel to exchange that much cash when you know you can just like stay with your wife and also just pay by card? But I do have a theory for that. The exchange rate? No. Like what? Because after dropping Shirin back at the hotel, Tongo picks up Mblombo and he takes him to work at the Coliseum, right? They know each other. It's the same hotel that is obviously offering the helicopter ride.

[00:56:34] I think through Mblombo, he was able to unlock some kind of staff discount, but not a discount for Shirin, a discount that allowed him to maybe skim some money off the top of their 10,000. Now, I say this because after Mblombo gets to work, that same day, CCTV footage shows the reception staff chatting excitedly about a surprise helicopter ride. Mblombo has obviously been bragging about this, right?

[00:56:59] One of the other receptionists makes a remark along the lines of rich people and their money, blah, blah, blah, and asks Mblombo, how much does it cost? And then figures off 10,000 Rand and 7,500, a discounted rate, are then mentioned in that conversation. Interesting. This makes me think that Tongo convinced Shirin to pay with cash, maybe offering him like a discount of 1,000 Rand off of it, right? And then he would pocket the difference between himself and Mblombo.

[00:57:27] Got you. So that's how, yeah, why he wants it in cash? It's just a theory that I have. Okay, but, so this is your theory, but they've got footage of this conversation with the receptionist staff talking about... Just briefly, it's like a throwaway remark. They're just having a chat and they say it. Okay, so at least that does back up with what could have, well, with Shirin's story then. Yeah, it's difficult to make out precisely what they're saying, but they definitely have this conversation. Okay. We don't know who they're talking about, though. True.

[00:57:56] But they are talking about rich people, surprise helicopter ride, how much does it cost? And they've just had a conversation a few minutes ago. And a price that's very similar to the amount that Shirin has withdrawn. Exactly. So I think that there's a chance that Shirin gave the cash to Tongo in that taxi, which explains why Tongo went to the Coliseum immediately after leaving Shirin, doesn't it? I think so. But the thing is, though, South African police, they never follow up on any of this. Never once do they check that CCTV and go,

[00:58:25] this is a weird conversation. Let's check with Tongo to see what they were talking about. Let's check with Shirin to see what they were talking about. They don't ask Shirin where the money went during the investigation. He literally offers to speak to the South African police following, obviously, Annie's murder, but they never follow through. So he's never even been interviewed. It could be that they already had made their minds up that they wanted to kind of pin this murder on him. So they've deliberately neglected to follow up on where the money went, right? They might even know, but they're just like hoping it gets buried.

[00:58:53] And this is why I say like in court, the prosecution, they say the exact amount of money that he had on him was the exact amount that a contract kill goes for. And again, they don't know that. They don't even provide any evidence for it, right? And if you had investigated this, surely you would know. You would know. You'd get the black market prices. Yeah. Now, I also think at some point that Tongo identified that Shirin and Annie were prime targets for a robbery. I think that he had either seen her engagement ring. They'd seen kind of Shirin's flashy watch.

[00:59:21] Shirin was literally flashing the cash, right? He was taking out all this money. Sure. So I don't know when they decided to rob them, but I think it could have been after Tongo dropped Shirin back at the hotel when he went to go pick up Mblombo and told him about the helicopter ride. And he was like, I've got 10,000 Rand here. Do you know what? There's way more where this came from. Should we rob him? Do you think at that point, or do you think even as soon as he picked them up, it's like,

[00:59:48] oh, this is a rich couple. I could possibly scam some, well, maybe scam some money from them. Listen, it's just a hunch. You could be right. But I'm inclined to discount that CCTV footage from earlier where they were supposedly planning this hit. I think their testimony, along with the footage of them laughing and dancing, is just used by the South African police to support the claim that Shirin had contracted Annie's murder. I just think they're like, it fits. But the reality is two conversations,

[01:00:15] one that was like 79 seconds, the other one was 41 seconds. There's just not enough time, is it? Yeah. I guess they could have had a conversation outside of those two times which were recorded. Possibly, but they've checked all their phone records and no other calls have happened. And I say this because independent investigators, they look into this and they say that those two calls just couldn't have been enough time to organise a contract kill. But I also think that it wasn't enough time to organise a robbery either. So I think it had to have happened when they were

[01:00:43] meeting face to face and that would be in the car. Unless they've got some kind of deal where they've done this before and they're like, hey, should we get these people tonight? Yeah, sure. Let's do it. Yeah, you're right. So after dropping Lombo Lombo off at the Coliseum, Tongo says that he heads straight to the local township to meet with Kwabe and Mgeni to put basically in place what was discussed in the car with Shirin. The key thing that he was supposed to do after this was call Shirin to confirm that everything was in place. Yet there is no evidence

[01:01:12] that call ever happened. That evening, just before 6pm, Annie and Shirin are seen going to the hotel bar. They are seen posing for pictures. They are repeatedly kissing each other. None of this is the behaviour of a man anxious about whether or not his wife's killer will actually pick him up tonight at 7.30 as agreed, right? He is not checking his phone to see if Tongo has texted him to confirm the plans are in place for that night.

[01:01:36] I see what you're saying. He'd either have to be a very cold-hearted, calculated killer to not care about this, but then equally, if he is someone like that, this wouldn't be his first kill, maybe. And so, yeah, you're right. For someone that's doing this for the first time, you would think they'd be anxious and nervous and not behaving normally. Yeah. Yeah. It's just such strange behaviour. However, meanwhile, over at the Coliseum, Lombo,

[01:02:03] who, if you recall, gets full immunity from the police because he says all he did was connect Tongo to Kwabe, he is basically seen on the phone taking a call from Tongo. The CCTV audio manages to make out what they were saying. And basically, he says, listen, don't give them it all upfront. Give them what you've got so they don't come crying to you. You must also take your share as well. What does that mean? What's he saying? It's difficult to know whether or not they were talking about the money that Shirin was supposed

[01:02:31] to be going to pay them for killing Annie, or if they were talking about something else. Perhaps the money that they were going to steal from him. But the key thing is that this footage doesn't sound like Lombo. It's just a fucking middleman, does it? No, yeah, absolutely. But he gets immunity because he says, all I did was connect A to B. That's all I did. And yet the police gave him immunity. Yeah, but he's still, yeah, why does he get immunity? He shouldn't. Smells like corruption. Yeah.

[01:03:01] So 7.30 comes and it goes. Tongo does not arrive at the Cape Grace to pick up Annie and Shirin. Now remember, he's expecting to pick him up at 7.30. He's not received confirmation. At this point, you definitely would be checking your phone a bunch of times, right? Eventually 7.45 arrives. Shirin decides to call him. Tongo says in his testimony that Shirin was furious for him for not picking him up at 7.30 and demanding that the murder happen and it should

[01:03:29] happen tonight. So we know that that call happened. What we don't know is what was actually said. Let's just assume what Tongo is saying is true. Because when you look at the CCTV footage of Shirin taking this call, he and Annie are sitting at this very tiny bar table leaning in together. And while he's on the phone, Shirin is lovingly stroking her hair. I just cannot buy that even a psychopath

[01:03:56] would be so brazen as to demand his wife's murder happen that night while stroking her affectionately in public really close to her. You'd have to be a very sick and twisted and bad kind of person to do that. And I think the way that the camera is pointing towards Annie, if he was furious and he was being aggressive towards Tongo on the phone, you would have seen that reaction in Annie's face. Yeah. Yeah. Because she'd be like, why are you miffed? And why are you talking about me? I'm guessing he's not saying that. He's got some code words.

[01:04:24] Yeah. So what Shirin was actually saying was far more likely. And that was that we've got reservations at eight. Where are you? So yeah, he was a bit annoyed, but maybe not that annoyed. Yeah. Eventually Tongo arrives and he surprisingly requests that he take them on a drive through the city on the way to the restaurant. So basically she wants to see what the city looked like at night. As they do, Tongo veers further out of the city to a point where he is virgining on the

[01:04:52] outskirts of a nearby township called Guguletu. Now this place is known for its violent crime. As they drive through, Tongo passes the section of the road where the gunman was supposed to be waiting, but they're not there. We don't know this yet, but apparently Kwabe has decided to call this all off. So Tongo has no choice. He continues forward to the restaurant. When they arrive, Tongo says that he walks in with them through to the entrance. And when Annie went in ahead of them,

[01:05:18] Shiren apparently turned to him furious saying, if the job is not done tonight, I am going to kill you. Is that captured on CCTV? When independent investigators reviewed the CCTV, they saw Annie, Shiren and Tongo walking up to the restaurant and it's Shiren who goes and enters the restaurant first. He does not hang back and there is no row. Interesting. Once again, the story just doesn't

[01:05:47] quite match up with what's going on. Yeah, this is wild. Tongo is making a huge claim in his testimony and yet the South African police do not even pull that footage. Or if they did, they're completely disregarding it. Yeah, they're like, oh, it could have happened at another point, I guess they're saying. While Annie and Shiren are at the restaurant, frantic calls are going on back and forth between Tongo, the gunman and Blombo. Then at 21.31, CCTV footage, again, back at the Coliseum, shows him

[01:06:15] Blombo saying, the person who wants this is in a rush. Maybe by the time you get there, they will be there. The person who wants this is in a rush. That makes it sound like it's quite damning towards Shiren, doesn't it? And that kind of backs up what Tongo was saying about him being furious and demanding that night. Yeah, yeah. Either way, at 9.56, Annie and Shiren finish dinner. Tongo says that Shiren called him to ask if the gunmen were waiting where they should be. However, Shiren says he

[01:06:44] simply called Tongo to pick them up because they were done with dinner. Okay, both make sense. Do they? Sometimes that's a reason that Shiren could say that, obviously, that's what he would say. True. So when Tongo picks him up, the records show that he sends a single text to Shiren sitting in the backseat of his taxi. He says it read, don't forget about the money. He then says that Shiren replied, the money is in an envelope in the pouch behind the front seat. There is evidence that

[01:07:12] Tongo sent a text. There's just no evidence that Shiren replied. Really? We don't know what the text says, but that's what the record shows. But surely if this is in court, they're going to look through all of this, but they don't. That text to me just says, back to the hotel. Yeah. Tongo then drives them into the heart of the Guguletu township. As they pull into a side street, Kwabe and Mgeni step out in front of the taxi. Tongo halts to a stop. They then instruct them to open the doors. Tongo

[01:07:41] says that he played along because, of course, he knew that this wasn't a real hijacking. Shiren says that he grabbed hold of Annie and held her tight because at this point she was starting to cry. And again, that's not the actions of a man that wanted his wife dead. Of course he's going to say that. Of course he's saying that. Yes. Okay. The gunman demands that Annie hand over her wedding ring and her engagement rings. She completely refuses. Shiren just tells us to just do it because they can all just buy new ones. He then says that he handed over all the cash that he had in his wallet,

[01:08:08] 4,000 rand, which is basically 350 pounds. He then says that he pleaded with the gunman not to kill them. And then Shiren recalls Mgeni saying that they weren't going to kill them. All they wanted was a car and that they would be letting them go separately. Okay. Shiren is then ordered out of the taxi. He begs them to let them go together. Kwabe then turns to Shiren and says, get out the taxi right now or we will shoot you. And so Shiren gets out. The taxi then speeds off with Tongo and

[01:08:37] Annie. A couple of minutes later, it stops again. And this time they order Tongo to get out. So how credible is what Shiren is saying about what happened, about gripping Annie really tight, about giving over the cash, insisting that Annie give over her wedding rings? I feel like, yeah, that's probably the story he would tell if he was guilty. I understand why he would get out of the taxi, but I can't see why a husband would leave his wife in the taxi to be

[01:09:04] taken. If you're held at gunpoint, then you probably would, right? Because there's a chance that you both could die then. I guess so. I don't know. That's the bit that makes me think maybe this could be him. But of course, you're right. He could be lying. It seems Tongo has, of course, lied loads of times to protect himself. So why wouldn't Shiren in this instance? Yeah, of course. Well, Shiren had never met Mgeni before. Mgeni is also the only gunman not to take a plea deal.

[01:09:31] He is also no incentive to lie because remember, it's his bullet that kills Annie and he was going to jail no matter what. And yet, when he's arrested long before Shiren was even a suspect, it's his testimony that matches exactly what Shiren had said. Interesting. He said he demanded the ring. She wouldn't give it over. He was clutching her tight. He confirmed that they were going to let them go a bit separately. They weren't going to kill them. He said all of it. Okay. That's interesting. Yeah.

[01:10:00] So now, Shiren is essentially all alone in the middle of the township and he's freaking out. He has no idea what to do. Luckily, he's seen by a local guy called Cimbernelli Matti and basically comes along to assist and he helps call the police. It takes forever, Adam, but eventually the cops arrive. The cops then coordinate a search for the taxi. And in the meantime, they take Shiren back to the hotel where they set up base in the hotel's internet room so they can continue the search.

[01:10:26] And Adam, Shiren is in bits. Like, you literally see him on CCTV walking between the rooms. He's clearly distraught. And the police will argue that this is just an act, but there are so many moments where there's just nobody around, just the CCTV, and it shows him in floods of tears. Yeah, because normally I imagine some behavioural psychologist, whatever, would have studied this and would have gone actually he's over the top or actually this is genuine behaviour. Did anyone do

[01:10:55] that? Not the South African authorities. I don't recall from the Panorama documentary that I saw that they talked about a criminal psychologist looking at his behaviour, but they did look at all the forensics and stuff. According to Cimbernelli, that's the guy who helped him in the township, he says that he was shocked when he found out that Shiren was accused of this just purely based on how frantic he was when he found him. Tongo is also eventually brought back to the hotel. And get this, he says that when he's brought back to the hotel, he overhears a police

[01:11:22] officer referring to Annie as Shiren's wife, to which he claims this is the first time he realised the woman Shiren wanted murdered was his wife. Even though he'd picked them up at the airport, driven them around for hours and hours back and forth to dinner and everywhere, this is when the penny drops for him. Did he just think that was his girlfriend or just, I don't know, surely like he would have seen them

[01:11:47] like being like a couple. I just think it's just so full of shit. He's lied so many times and he's made these really stupid lies that are just inconsequential and mean nothing. As if to say, oh, if I'd known it was his wife, I wouldn't have been involved. Yeah, oh, but a random person you would have. Yeah. All the cops do is reassure Shiren that they're going to find Annie alive, but Adam. In reality, Annie was already dead at this point. She'd been killed just a few minutes after Tonga was forced out of the taxi. And so why? Why did they, let's just say for a second that,

[01:12:17] okay, Shiren had nothing to do with it and that it's these criminals that kind of went, right, we're going to rob them for their money, which they've done, they've successfully done that. Why did they kill her? Why did they not let her go? I'm going to tell you now, because when it comes to how she died, there are essentially two versions, because both Kwabe and Mnegi, they blamed each other, basically. So in this instance, the South African police had to go with the forensics, the very limited forensics that they

[01:12:43] were capable of, and they managed to match the bullet to Mnegi's gun. So it was him who essentially had murdered her. Here's the thing, the forensic findings differed between the South African authorities and the independent experts who reviewed the case a few years later. Basically, they found that the South African authorities just made educated guesses about what they thought had happened rather than actually doing any proper forensics at all. They both agree though,

[01:13:10] that Annie was killed by a single gunshot that passed through her hand before entering her neck, severing her blood vessels and then entering her spinal cord. Poor Annie. But the South African investigators claimed that she'd been cowering on the back seat while the gunman had leaned from the front passenger side and deliberately fired a close range of her, making this basically a pre-planned execution in their eyes, therefore supporting their claim. The independent forensic expert, on the other hand, found that there was no blood

[01:13:38] splatter on the back seat, suggesting that she was actually leaning forward when she was shot, and the soot on her hand indicated that the muzzle was as close as five centimetres from her hand. Now, what this suggests is that the gun was discharged during a struggle, likely over her belongings. And this is backed up by the fact that the gunman had fled. They'd stolen a handbag, her mobile phone, designer watch, jewellery, all worth around £8,000. What they did not take

[01:14:06] was Annie's rings, because police later found those under her body and one hidden in the seat. And collectively, those were the most valuable items in that vehicle that night at £25,000. And the ones that probably meant the most to her. Yep. And the fact that they were found flung in the car was that they were trying to struggle those out of her hand. And I've just realised the valuables that were taken, £8,000, and yet they were willing to do this for £20,000 or £15,000.

[01:14:36] Yeah, £900,000 or whatever. Yeah. So why would you even bother going through with the kill if you had been hired to do that? You just want the money, right? Yeah. So I now buy it as a struggle. And of course, the reason why they didn't take them is because likely there was that struggle. They tried to pry it out of her hands. The gun then discharged. And then when that happened, they fled out of panic. And so Annie lay in the backseat and she slowly bled to death.

[01:15:02] And so the independent forensic team's findings show that this wasn't a contracted kill. This was a robbery gone wrong, essentially. Now, it is true that this could have been a contracted kill and still had a firearm accidentally discharged during a struggle, right? Because remember, they were supposed to stage a robbery. But why did they then not stick around to make sure that she was dead? Remember, if this was a contracted kill and you accidentally shot her by accident,

[01:15:30] you would most definitely stick around to make sure she was definitely dead because that's what you're getting paid for. Now, it's true that, of course, as you said, the haul is now bigger because they'd stolen all this jewellery worth £8,000. But still, they don't necessarily know that at this time until they sell those items. I guess, yeah, on the flip side, they perhaps were going to take her to a certain place to kill her and it went wrong. But then equally, they probably thought, actually, our job's done. Yes, they might have run away, but did they actually run away? Yeah, they ran away as soon as the gun went off.

[01:16:00] How do we know that? Because they left the rings behind. That makes sense. So, to me, why did they not shoot her again if this was a contracted kill? It's just a lot of effort to go through to potentially risk not getting paid. Because remember, if she doesn't die, they're also not going to get their money. True, although they've just got all this money. But they don't know that, though. That's the point, right? They don't know how much it's worth. But then why would they be going after the wedding rings then? Because they don't know how much they're necessarily worth. Because they think it's a release worth something. Yeah.

[01:16:28] But then at the same time, they also probably targeted them because they know they're rich. Yeah. So, yeah, it's an interesting one. And yet, Adam, the South African authorities, they failed to do any tests on the ballistics to prove it was deliberate. Instead, they just ran with this narrative that it was a contracted kill, possibly because it needed to be deemed a hit. Otherwise, it would damage the country's tourism. Because if that is true, that story or that narrative went across the world. And it was reported on for quite some time. It wasn't... Huge amount of time. Yeah.

[01:16:58] But listen, we still need to get to the court case and we still need to look at some of the evidence, especially the prosecution, to decide whether or not we think Sheeran had any involvement in this. So, yeah, this looks like this is a ploy to protect the country's tourism. So instead, what the South African authorities do is they issue plea bargains in exchange for confessions to kind of suit that narrative. And as a result, everyone who took one of these plea bargains ended up walking away a free man. The only one who didn't was Mnegi because he was already

[01:17:26] a condemned man anyway. They had to say that the others were blaming him if he wanted any chance of not going to jail. Yeah. That's his only defence that he's got. And he's the only one that's corroborated the story. And so his testimony from that night is the only one that matches Sheeran's despite the two of them never having met in their lives. In Kwabe's testimony, he says that he found an envelope with 15,000 rand in it for the hit, exactly where Tongo had claimed Sheeran had placed it. But in Mnegi's testimony, he

[01:17:54] says there was no 15,000 rand. He says the only money that they split was the 4,000 rand that they had demanded from Sheeran when they robbed him. And the evidence that backs this up is because the very next day, Mnegi went and spent half of his 4,000 rand on trainers and clothes. So if there had been more money, he would have spent more money. And that's what makes me think now that it could have been a kill. People wouldn't have been like killing for that level of money. They just wanted some extra money to buy some new designer wear.

[01:18:22] Yeah, probably. And so on the 14th of November at 9.20am, Adam, the police tell Sheeran that they had found Annie's body in an abandoned taxi. And CCTV footage shows him absolutely hysterical. Like 90% of the footage is just of him in bits. The worst is when he is seen going off, leaving the hotel to go and identify Annie's body at the mortuary. And I just feel so bad for him. He is just distraught. However, the prosecution hyper-focused on just three seconds

[01:18:51] of all of that footage where the following day he is seen just for a second smiling on the phone to a friend. Wow, that's a clutch. Yeah. So, of course, back in Sweden, a similar phone call absolutely collapses Annie's whole family. One week earlier, they were receiving texts about how Annie was having difficulty adjusting, expressing her citations about the marriage, and even her family describing her last phone call as being really strange.

[01:19:16] Do you think that once the family, Annie's family, had said that the South African police and government could go, actually, we could use this? 100%. Because now there was essentially a stranger on the other end of the phone, asking them to confirm dates, spellings, who her next akin was. And of course, all of those texts and all those hesitations now become evidence for the South African authorities. So you're right. Another piece of the prosecution's evidence is more CCTV footage of Shiran just before he

[01:19:45] leaves South Africa. He is seen meeting with Tonga one last time. Surprised by that? Well, I guess for Shiran, if he, at this moment in time, if he's not guilty and therefore suspects that it is a random attack, he might meet with the taxi driver because perhaps he thinks, you know, he's concerned about him as well. Well, Tonga says that he came to the hotel to collect his 5,000 rand fee for his part

[01:20:11] in Annie's murder. They were both seen entering the internet room where there's no CCTV, but there were other people in that room. So it's not likely that they were seeking privacy, right? I don't know. Shiran is seen going in with a white plastic bag and leaves a few minutes later without it. A few seconds after that, Tonga is seen leaving the room with the bag hidden under his shirt and he heads straight to the toilet. And he claims that's where he can encounter the cash and notice that there was only a thousand rand in it. He says he then went

[01:20:41] looking for Shiran to confront him about being shortchanged. But there is no CCTV evidence that Tonga actually did this. He literally just makes a beeline for the exit and he leaves. And that is the last time that he ever sees essentially Shiran. Okay. So why would he lie about trying to find Shiran then and chasing him down? That doesn't make sense. No. So what this money is likely for was just the agreed payment for driving them around

[01:21:07] on their trip. It's not some fee for his part in the killing, but I have to say Tonga is fucking lucky to be getting a single penny of any of that money at all. If I was the driver and you led me and my wife into an ambush that resulted in my wife being murdered, I would not be paying you anything. But I guess he doesn't know that that was done on purpose at this point. Exactly. You're exactly right. Because from Shiran's perspective at the time, Tonga is just an innocent bystander just like him. Yeah. So he probably feels bad that shit, you know what? You lost your taxi. Yeah.

[01:21:37] Here's the money. Tonga says in his testimony that this was, of course, the last time that he ever heard from Shiran. But again, that's also a lie because phone records and CCTV footage show Shiran calling Tonga from the hotel about an hour after paying him where they spoke for 50 seconds. Now, we don't know what they talked about, but this is the sixth time that phone records and CCTV footage have proven that Tonga has lied in a sworn statement to police.

[01:22:03] And yet, Adam, his entire testimony is the leading bit of evidence throughout Shiran's trial. So the thing is, it does raise questions. Why was Shiran even calling Tonga after their business arrangement was essentially done, right? The only way that I could really rationalise it was that maybe Shiran had asked if he knew anything about what had happened that night. But remember, the call only lasted 50 seconds. Because they probably chatted about all this in the hotel anyway.

[01:22:30] But maybe it was like, oh, by the way, we were having this conversation. What about this little quick detail? And he was like, no, I don't know anything. Yeah, maybe. Is he asking, do you know another taxi driver? I don't know. I need to get to the airport. Yeah. Either way, the investigation moves on. And about a week later, Tonga is officially announced as a suspect. And the very next day, he enters into a plea bargain in exchange for a testimony

[01:22:54] against Shiran Duani. And the deal essentially cuts his sentence from 25 years to just seven years, simply for arranging the middleman on Blombo. But at this point, when he's arrested, are they pinning this on Shiran? Or are they arresting him because they think he's just connected with the... They believe he's connected. Now he's gone into a plea bargain and they've said, we'll give you the plea bargain if you testify against Shiran.

[01:23:18] Fine. But the weird thing is, Adam, is that it's the speed at which this plea bargain was arranged. It's almost unheard of because usually these take weeks, if not months. But the police were under pressure to resolve this case quickly. And so, of course, the preferable outcome was that Annie's murder be portrayed as something arranged between Tonga and a foreign visitor to the country, rather than evidence of rampant domestic criminality, which of course might damage the country's tourism industry.

[01:23:45] But when Tonga's plea deal is rubber stamped, that is essentially the moment that Shiran officially becomes a suspect. By this point, Shiran is already in the UK. So on the 8th of November, a day after Tonga's arrest, Shiran is arrested in the UK at the request of the South African authorities. The South African Justice Department makes it very clear that they would be requesting his extradition if convicted and that he would spend life in a South African prison, which is a scary fucking thought.

[01:24:15] Of course, his lawyer refuses the extradition because they knew that if he did go to South Africa, he wouldn't be given a fair trial. They argued that as a result of everything that had happened, Shiran had been diagnosed with an acute stress disorder and basically they pushed for the extradition hearing to be delayed until he recovered. And this isn't just a line, Adam. Like, Shiran is an absolute shell of a man at this point because a week after, he ends up getting sectioned under the Mental Health Act after he takes a cocktail of 46 pills including diazepam and painkillers.

[01:24:44] Yeah, so that's something you don't do. That's a suicide attempt. Yeah. And you cannot argue that this was part of some kind of act to fake depression. No, because that level of pills, like, it could have gone the other way. He could have died. More likely have gone the other way. But as a result of this suicide attempt, the South African authorities demand that his bail be revoked, saying that it was basically just his way of avoiding a trial and they wanted him to be arrested to prevent any further kind of suicide attempts,

[01:25:09] somehow his lawyers, they successfully managed to convince a judge that him taking 46 pills was not a suicide attempt but instead was an accident. And the judge buys it. Hang on. How does... No. I know. It's mad. Did he think it was vitamin C? Like, what? So, Sharon basically manages to avoid an extradition hearing for four years.

[01:25:36] I mean, imagine, like, he's got some money. He can probably afford some very good lawyers. Possibly. But there's a time limit to that because eventually he is brought in front of a judge and the court finally agrees that actually, in fact, there is enough evidence to extradite him to face trial in South Africa. And so off he goes. And when he gets to South Africa, he is arrested, he is charged. And in those four years that he was escaping kind of trial, Kwabe is sentenced to 25 years. So, so much his stupid plea deal did for him, right?

[01:26:05] Munegi, he pleads not guilty, but he has proven that he was the gunman that killed Annie. And so he is sentenced to automatic life in prison. Tongo gets seven years for his plea deal, as we've already discussed. But what is wild is that his defence team managed to prove that police had used torture to get him to enter into that plea deal and testify against Sharon. Really? And yet, his testimony, Adam, underpins Sharon's entire incrimination in this case. Wow.

[01:26:34] And Adam, it's just so corrupt, right? Umblombo, the middleman, all charges against him are dropped because apparently the evidence against him was considered unreliable and contradictory. This is despite him even admitting that he lied in several statements, right? Admitting he lied. He even at one point admitted his involvement in the killing and yet he gets full immunity. In fact, by him admitting that he's lying, that is straightaway a perjury charge, right? Yeah. You can't believe anything he says.

[01:27:02] Yeah, exactly. And yet he's granted this full immunity in exchange for promising to provide a truthful testimony against Sharon Duwani. They've already proved that he's lied several times. So it's like, how can you trust any truthful statement that he provides? You just can't. Again, it's just so corrupt. Under cross-examination, the court described him as a self-confessed liar. The judge even said he fabricated evidence and was just not a credible witness. And of course, he doesn't deserve the immunity. And this is where, meanwhile, the corruption goes all the way to the top because it's the

[01:27:31] director of public prosecutions who ultimately decides that Umblombo could not be prosecuted for his role in this or that perjury charges could be brought against him. So essentially, he walks away completely free. But Sharon's trial begins on the 6th of October, 2014. And in court, he basically opens up by starting to describe how his life essentially collapsed after Annie's death. When he is cross-examined, the prosecution leaned heavily on the testimonies of Tongo and Kouabe to prove,

[01:27:58] of course, that he contracted Annie's murder. And again, all of those were proven to contain lies and contradictions. The biggest thing, though, that they need to prove was Sharon's motive. They claimed that it was because Sharon was gay and that this was why he wanted out of the marriage. If Annie was murdered, he would, of course, be a widow and free from the pressure of having to remarry, free to obviously live his life as a closeted homosexual man, essentially. That's a stretch to remain in the closet. And is there any evidence to suggest that he was?

[01:28:28] So the prosecution brought in a surprise witness. His name is Leopold Lesser. And apparently, he was an escort that Sharon had hired on the regular. The name that he went by was the German master. Basically, he's a German dominatrix. And he told the court that Sharon had paid him £400 per session and that he was the only client that he allowed to sleep over. He claimed that the last time Sharon hired him was a month before he got engaged to Annie. And he recalled Sharon telling him

[01:28:57] that Annie was a lovely girl and that he liked her, but he couldn't break out of the relationship because his family would disown him. And yet he still wanted to find a way out. I mean, I can understand now with that piece of evidence why maybe the South African authorities were pushing their side. But it does feel like this has just come out of the blue. It does. It feels like it, doesn't it? Here's the shocker. Because in court, Sharon admits that he is bisexual.

[01:29:23] He admits to using gay escorts. The prosecution even presents evidence of him frequenting gay fetish websites, even reading out his gaydar profile in court. He basically went under the name of Asian sub guy. And his buyer described himself as submissive, filthy minded and perverted. Okay. Annie's family, Adam, meanwhile, they're mortified. For them, all the pieces feel like they're starting to fit into place. Most days in court, they can barely even keep this together. And I mean,

[01:29:52] there is something really heartbreaking about seeing a father breaking down over the loss of his daughter and just being in tears. It's really difficult to see the images and watch the footage. So yes, this probably gives motive for why he might have wanted Annie dead. As damning as it sounds though, motive isn't really evidence. It's not treated as such. And the evidence that he actually contracted her murder is also quite weak in itself. There's nothing actually tying him to any

[01:30:19] of this. There's no search history. There's no DNA. There's just nothing. There's no nothing. Where's the money, for example? I just feel like there's a lot to do just to get out of a marriage, right? I'm sure there's other ways. Will there are. But also, Sheeran says that his sexual interactions with men were mostly physical experiences, whereas with women, there were more relationships involving kind of emotions and attachment. There's also no evidence that he was using escorts after he'd gotten engaged to Annie. In fact,

[01:30:47] medical records show that just days before the honeymoon, he and Annie were already talking to doctors about actively trying to have a baby. So to me, that is not the actions of a man planning to kill his wife within the next few days. Yeah, it sounds like he is bisexual and is attracted to men. He's put that to one side while there's marriage. Sure. But also, Leopold says that Sheeran's family would have disowned him if they found out that he was bisexual. Sitting in the courtroom with him every day is Sheeran's sister, who

[01:31:16] is openly a lesbian. And she is sitting there with her girlfriend right next to their entire family. Right. So that's not true then. Exactly. If his family clearly accepted her sexuality, why wouldn't they accept his? And their support. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. At the close of his trial on the 24th of November 2014, Sheeran's lawyers applied for the case to be dismissed under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, arguing that

[01:31:44] there's, essentially, there is no credible evidence linking him to this crime. And that is true. The judge basically agrees. She acquits and exonerates him completely. She says that the case was grossly riddled with inconsistencies. The witness evidence was hopelessly flawed at best. And she openly criticizes the prosecution for their poor quality of the case, despite having four years to prepare for this. And so the final question comes down to this, Adam. Why were the

[01:32:13] South African authorities so hell-bent on expediting plea bargains and extracting confessions, even allegedly using torture? Was it the fear of the impact this international case could have on South Africans' tourism following the World Cup? I think that's certainly the case. That seems just crazy, though. Maybe not so crazy that it can't be true, but just wild that's a

[01:32:39] potential motive. They're like, we just got Shakira, guys. Think of the next time we get a celebrity. It's going to take us years. Yeah. Is this just wild? But the thing is, though, in that moment, protecting South Africa's image was everything to them. This was supposed to be this new era for the country. And it was a far better PR to say that a foreign national had come to orchestrate a diabolical murder plot rather than admitting honeymooning tourists were randomly being

[01:33:07] shot in townships. I was going to say, like, even after this, people are still going to South Africa. I don't know the numbers, so I don't know what kind of injection they got after the World Cup. I assume it was a lot and they were certainly trying to get even more. But yeah, this just, it's like the Streisand effect. If they just, like, let this go and, yeah, it was a tragic thing, they pegged it down to what it was, it probably would have breezed over. But people remember this now. Yeah, yeah. Because how big the story became. Of course, since 2010, it feels like this story has

[01:33:36] left a curse on the people that are involved. Just before Sharon's trial in 2014, Nagy developed a brain tumour and he dies in prison. But then also in 2015, Annie's father has his arm ripped off in an industrial accident while repairing a lift. Apparently, the chain, it slips, causing the cage to fall down and sever his arm just below the shoulder. Jeez. But then in 2016, Leopold, our German master, he's found hanging in his flat. And apparently this was just two days after his 45th birthday

[01:34:04] and in an inquest into his death, found that he was really depressed as a result of the trial. Wow. So it's strange that these terrible things have happened to all these different people that are connected to this case. It feels like it's almost cursed. And Adam, that is the story of the murder of Annie Dewani and how corruption and a deep-rooted desire to protect South African tourism completely derails an investigation into this young woman's death.

[01:34:32] Yeah, it just, it felt like, if anything, regardless of what the actual outcome is, her death was not properly investigated and justice was not served for her. And I think that's what's quite sad. I guess the only thing I can say is that the judge or the jury, whatever, the prosecution, didn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was behind this. And that's the law, unfortunately. If you can't, then he's exonerated. Yeah. So I think I agree with you. I just honestly can't say without a shadow of a doubt that

[01:35:02] Sheeran was not involved in Annie's murder. But I appreciate researching the story because when it first broke into the mainstream, I was convinced he did it. But seeing the evidence and the lack thereof all laid out, it's very, very clear that something is amiss. Yeah. We can't prove that he did it. Yeah. And I think he's innocent. I'm probably now about 80%. Yeah. Same as me. Yes. 80% buddies. I just don't want to rule it out in case poor Annie, she died. And I don't. But I don't think it was him.

[01:35:31] I think the evidence is pointing overwhelmingly that he didn't do it. How awful would Annie feel if she was in heaven knowing that her husband has been pinned for this when actually it was these other motherfucking bastards. Yeah. And that's the thing. Once you have a bad actor interfering with evidence like the South African kind of authorities, it makes it almost impossible to get the truth out later. It's been 14 years since this has happened. And I'm only now looking back on this now. Many

[01:35:57] people out there will not get that opportunity to change their mind on this case unless they listen to this episode. The more people listen to this episode and you remember this case, listen to it and just tell us what you think. Have you changed your mind? What was your perception of this case when it first broke? But that's the sad reality is that we're a small little podcast. No, everyone's got to listen to this. Stop trying to plug the podcast. I mean, do, do plug the podcast. Listen, I need to end on a more serious note and you're just making it too funny.

[01:36:24] Because I want to say, for Annie's family, there is no acquittal that restores anything. Birthdays are going to become anniversaries. The itinerary of a honeymoon essentially becomes a timeline for a crime. They sit through years of strangers debating over motives and methods. I mean, we're here 14 years later, right? While the person that they love is basically reduced to exhibits and transcripts. They don't get that certainty. All they get is absence.

[01:36:52] And that's the sentence that they have to serve. And to be fair, all we've done is talk about the suspects involved in her case, not Annie herself. I'd like to think I gave you a little bit of insight about Annie at the beginning. Yeah, but what I mean is in the search for the truth, she almost becomes a footnote. No, I don't mean that, but everyone's questioning all the suspects, what they're doing, the corruption. Everyone's focusing on that. No one's focusing on her. Unfortunately, without the other people involved in the story,

[01:37:20] there isn't a story, right? There isn't a story to tell about Annie. And sometimes we don't get to choose our story. But I think through the telling of the story, we can also reflect and go, there was a human being at the end of this. Yeah. And I think I tried to do her service rather than having her as a faceless figure. I think I tried to tell you a bit about who she was so we could remember that as we went through what essentially is her final days. And a big part of me now thinks, honestly, that this was just a robbery that had gone wrong.

[01:37:49] I don't think Shireen orchestrated his wife's murder, but there are strange nuances in this case that mean I can't be 100%. And like you, I think I'm still 80% sure. But the saddest part of all of this, and again, is that this isn't something Annie's family will ever get back. They've lost their daughter essentially. And now all they have is that space that she should be filling. So it's a sad case, but it's an incredible story

[01:38:15] of how a country, South Africa, because it could just be any other country, could do something like this in order to protect their national identity. And I think there's something quite gross about that. I agree. That was enlightening in a way, because all I remember was that it was him. So it's good to revisit and re-educate yourself, really. Yeah. Good. Should we run the outro for this week? Let's do it. And that brings us to the end of another episode of The Compendium,

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