Leila Samodien
Justice Writer
THE policeman who drove Shrien Dewani back to his hotel after he had reported being hijacked says it was “strange” that the newlywed had not asked what was being done to find his wife.
Grilled under cross-examination, Sergeant Cornelius Mellet was questioned about attempting to create suspicion of Dewani.
Mellet testified in the Western Cape High Court yesterday at Dewani’s trial.
The extradited British businessman is accused of orchestrating the murder of his wife, Anni, while they were on honeymoon in Cape Town four years ago.
The couple were hijacked – an incident the State alleges was simulated – on the night of November 13, 2010.
The hijackers let Dewani go, but drove on with Anni. She was found dead in the back seat of the car, in Khayelitsha, the next morning.
After the hijacking, Mellet was tasked with driving Dewani from the Harare Police Station in Khayelitsha to the Cape Grace at the V&A Waterfront, where the couple had been staying.
He also had to look through hotel CCTV footage in an effort to get a description of the vehicle and a registration number.
Asked by prosecutor Adrian Mopp whether they had discussed anything else about Dewani’s wife while they were in the car – the drive from the police station had taken about 15 to 20 minutes – Mellet said they had not. He had thought this “strange”.
He said he had been married for many years and would be concerned if his wife was missing.
“It was strange to me that Mr Dewani did not ask me what the police were doing within their powers to search for |his wife.”
Mellet testified that Dewani had come across as “tense and nervous” and was sweating.
Cross-examining him, Francois van Zyl SC, for Dewani, asked him why it would be strange that Dewani had not asked him what the police were doing to trace his wife because, on that night, Mellet had been working as a clerk and had been instructed to take Dewani back to the hotel. Mellet said that if it had been him, he would have asked what was being done.
Van Zyl put it to Mellet that telling the court that Dewani had acted strangely – and adding that he had been tense, nervous and sweating – was an attempt to establish suspicion and create an “atmosphere”.
Mellet said he had no such intention. During Mellet’s cross-examination, the court viewed two video clips – one showing Dewani walking through a foyer at the hotel and another showing him walking in a passage.
Earlier in his testimony, Mellet said Dewani had run down the passage, but after viewing the video clips, conceded that Dewani had not been running, but walking fast.
Earlier in the proceedings, the defence wrapped up its cross-examination of Anni’s cousin and confidant Sneha Mashru, who at one stage became emotional.
Among the points raised by Van Zyl was that Anni had told a doctor she wanted to fall pregnant and had asked for medication to assist her, and that this flew in the face of Mashru’s testimony about Anni’s contemplating divorce.
Mashru said if Anni had wanted to fall pregnant she would have told her. Also, Anni had been on acne medication which, because of side effects, required that at least a month elapse before women taking it fell pregnant.
“I know for a fact that Anni told me that Shrien and Anni’s sex life was not good because Shrien was having problems getting an erection.”