The family of slain American Gaby Alban will not get justice from South African courts, says Anni Dewani's father. "The justice system is so corrupt in South Africa ... from the top to bottom," Vinod Hindocha said this week from his home in Sweden.Anni was murdered in November 2010, apparently after she and her British millionaire husband, Shrien, were hijacked in Gugulethu, near Cape Town, while on honeymoon.The hijackers accused Shrien of orchestrating a hit on his wife. He was extradited to South Africa and several witnesses were flown to Cape Town to testify.story_article_left1But Western Cape Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso found the state's case flawed and discharged him in December last year - sparking international debate about South Africa's justice system.Hindocha was speaking days after it emerged that the accused in Alban's death, her lover Diego Novella, 41, would be charged with schedule five murder, as opposed to schedule six premeditated murder.This means it will be easier for him to obtain bail, and if convicted he could face a lighter sentence.Novella, a Guatemalan tycoon, was arrested after Alban's body was found in their room at the Camps Bay Retreat boutique hotel in Cape Town on July 29.It is believed the 39-year-old marketing executive had been sexually abused, and cocaine was found in the room.Last week, her family said in a statement they would return to South Africa soon to "assist in seeking justice for Gaby".But Hindocha warned them against optimism: "I don't think they will get justice there."He asked why Rodney de Kock, head of the Western Cape division of the National Prosecuting Authority, had not headed Shrien's prosecution in court. "[He] did not even turn up once in court," Hindocha said. "He led the case in London like a hungry wolf. But he backed off once Dewani was in South Africa."mini_story_image_vright1Yesterday, De Kock said: "It was always clear the NPA had identified who the prosecution team would be."I informed the court publicly that I would not be involved in the actual prosecution due to my other responsibilities. I was also involved in the extradition proceedings and representing South Africa in the UK. We wish to state that Mr Dewani also attacked the judicial system during the extradition while the Hindochas always expressed their confidence in it."Western Cape NPA spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said he sympathised with the family's loss, but it was "regrettable" that Hindocha thought the justice system was corrupt."The statement has no basis. ... The court found that the state witnesses were not sufficiently credible."Hindocha is now pinning his hopes on an inquest into Anni's death, which is set to begin in North London on September 9.Novella, who is being held in the hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison, is set to apply for bail in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.The court heard this week that the investigation was incomplete and postmortem and forensic reports were still outstanding.Police were yet to obtain witness statements and CCTV footage which could determine Novella's movements, and an identity parade still had to be conducted.Novella's lawyer, William Booth, said the outstanding information was frustrating his preparations for the bail application.story_article_left2Police this week declined to comment on the apparently slow progress of the investigation.But criminal lawyer William da Grass said Novella's defence did not need to have all the facts for the bail application."This is a high-profile matter and the prosecution does not want to be seen to be overlooking formalities," he said.Meanwhile, tributes have poured in for Alban."You were always gentle, sweet, calm, an old soul wise beyond your years ... You understood love and compassion like none other," her friend Maryam Pashmforoosh wrote in a comment linked to Alban's obituary on the Los Angeles Times website.nombembep@sundaytimes.co.za..