Dewani's freedom bid

Murder accused Shrien Dewani could be back in the UK before Christmas if the Cape Town High Court throws out his case.

After the state closed its case yesterday, Dewani' s lawyer, Francois van Zyl, said he would ask the court to discharge his client.

The trial has been riddled with conflicting testimony by key witnesses for the state, and police ballistics expert Warrant Officer Pieter Engelbrecht admitted that he might have erred.

Dewani is accused of orchestrating the murder of his wife, Anni, during their honeymoon in Cape Town in 2010.

Western Cape Deputy Judge President Jeannette Traverso adjourned the trial until Monday. She will then rule on the application after the prosecution and the defence have presented their oral arguments.

Taxi-shuttle operator Zola Tongo maintains that Dewani offered to pay R15000 for the hit.

He claimed that his friend, Monde Mbolombo, put him in touch with Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni, who committed the killing in a feigned hijacking.

Tongo, Mbolombo and Qwabe all turned state witness but deviated from their original statements during cross-examination and frequently contradicted each other.

Criminal law expert William Booth said Dewani had a strong case. "In many instances courts don't grant a discharge. It is only when evidence is of such poor quality that no reasonable person could convict on that evidence," he said.

"Looking at the three main witnesses, I think their evidence can be placed in the category of being of such poor quality."

Forensic expert David Klatzow said the state had had four years in which to investigate the case and had spent "millions" on Dewani's extradition - only to bungle much of its evidence.

"It is so sad. The National Prosecuting Authority should again hang its head in shame."

Before yesterday's adjournment, the state and the prosecution handed in a 48-page document outlining facts about the case that they agreed on, such as that Dewani gave employees at the Cape Grace hotel a R15000 tip four days after Anni's death.