South African kidnappers 'planned to ransom' British businessman's bride, hears court

Hitmen allegedly hired by British businessman Shrien Dewani to murder his bride had planned to kidnap and ransom her, defence lawyers suggested in the Cape Town High Court yesterday.

They also raised the possibility that there were plans to "sexually molest or rape" her before she was killed accidentally.

The defence appeared to be setting up an argument to explain a key question in the case - why Dewani was allowed to go free while armed hijackers drove off with his wife, who was later shot dead.

Prosecutors say Dewani had arranged to pay the men to stage a fake hijacking and execute his 28-year-old Swedish-born bride Anni on their honeymoon in Cape Town in 2010.

Prosecutor Adrian Mopp gave evidence that Dewani was gay, in support of the argument that the millionaire businessman wanted to end a marriage he felt pushed into by family.

Dewani has admitted being a member of gay websites and having paid male prostitutes for sex, but says he is bisexual and loved Anni. The court heard that he described himself on the Gaydar website as "gay", not "bisexual", and that he had logged onto the site within hours of Anni's death.