Celebrity send-off for Dewani

While a mob of international journalists watched Shrien Dewani jet out of South Africa a free man yesterday, the family of Anni Dewani, his murdered bride, was still battling to pluck up the courage to face the world.

There was near pandemonium at Cape Town International Airport as throngs of journalists swamped the Briton as he made his way to a Dubai-bound plane.

A heavy police contingent and a handful of officials from the British consulate protected him.

Dewani looked relaxed in blue jeans and a white shirt. He stared ahead, unfazed by the barrage of questions from the media.

An official at the airport said Dewani and his family, including his mother and father, left on an Emirates plane at 1.30pm yesterday.

Dewani was acquitted of Anni's murder on Monday after being charged with planning her killing during their honeymoon in Cape Town four years ago.

The government spent close to R3-million on a private plane to bring Dewani to Cape Town from the UK.

Former prosecutor Glynnis Breytenbach, now a DA MP, said closer to R5-million was spent on Dewani's extradition.

As Dewani's plane took off, Anni's family was still in shock at his acquittal.

Her uncle, Ashok Hindocha, said: "It is sad that Shrien left South Africa without explaining what really happened that night. But he is a free man, he can go anywhere he wants."

He said his family would leave for their home in Sweden this week and would consult lawyers there about their legal options.

"We need to sleep at night," said Hindocha. "We are a united family and we will keep fighting until we get our sleep back. We want to know what happened."

The National Prosecuting Authority has been heavily criticised for the way in which it handled the Dewani case.

Breytenbach said she would take the matter up with Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha and the chairman of parliament's portfolio committee on justice and correctional services, Mathole Motshekga.

"In the state's protracted efforts and spending to get Dewani to return to South Africa to stand trial, it would appear that the NPA did not have a solid case to present," she said. "This raises serious questions about how the NPA decides which cases to prosecute."