Three arrests were made in the days following the crime; hijackers Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Xolile Mngeni, and hotel receptionist Monde Mbolombo admitted to their involvement in an unintentionally fatal robbery and kidnapping.

[1] Facing life in prison, Qwabe and Mbolombo later changed their stories to allege the crime had been a premeditated murder for hire at the behest of Anni's husband Shrien Dewani.

The allegation of the husband's involvement made global headlines; Shrien Dewani's supporters denied the accusations, saying it was "ludicrous" to suggest he had solicited an attack on his wife from the first taxi driver he met within hours of their arrival in Cape Town.

South African prosecutors formulated charges against Shrien Dewani based on the later-discredited confessions of Tongo, Qwabe and Mbolombo, who were found to have committed perjury.

[3] Charges were brought on the basis Anni had been the victim of a premeditated kidnapping and murder for hire that was staged to appear like a random carjacking, allegedly arranged by her husband.

[7] After landing at Cape Town International Airport on 7 November 2010, Dewani and her husband took a domestic flight and stayed at the Kruger National Park for four nights.

Police later confirmed Anni's Giorgio Armani wristwatch, a white-gold and diamond bracelet, her handbag and her BlackBerry mobile telephone were missing, and assumed they were stolen.

[15] On 17 November, Dewani's body was released by the South African authorities and returned to the United Kingdom on a British Airways flight, accompanied by her husband.

[citation needed] Six months after her death, following Hindu customs, her family scattered her ashes in her favourite area of the Vänern lake, close to her home town, Mariestad, Sweden.

[17] Mngeni made a videotaped confession in the presence of Captain Jonker of the South African Police Service, admitting involvement in a hijack, armed robbery and kidnapping operation.

[20] After initial denials, Qwabe was allowed to consult with arrested co-conspirators Mbolombo and Mngeni, and subsequently admitted involvement in the hijack, armed robbery and kidnapping.

[1] Taxi driver Zola Tongo reported the hijacking to a police station in Gugulethu after he was ejected from the vehicle, and made a statement saying he was an unknowing victim.

[23] The following day, Tongo appointed attorney William De Grass, and on Saturday 20 November he surrendered to police and said the operation was a planned murder that was staged to appear as a random hijacking at the behest of Shrien Dewani.

With an economy reliant on tourism, tour operators reported an immediate drop in bookings as potential visitors became aware of the country's murder rate; on average, 46 per day.

[24] The assignment of the Police Hawks team, and the early arrests, conviction and statement implicating Shrien Dewani led to increased media coverage.

[28] A second Panorama programme broadcast in September 2013 revisited the case and highlighted numerous inconsistencies between the physical evidence, witness testimony, and the South African prosecutors' purported version of events.

Mziwamadoda Qwabe[29] and Zola Tongo[13] were offered reduced sentences in exchange for guilty pleas and the promise of truthful testimony against Shrien Dewani and in other criminal proceedings related to the crime.

[29] Monde Mbolombo was granted full immunity from prosecution in exchange for his promise of truthful testimony against Shrien Dewani and in other criminal proceedings related to the crime.

[13] According to the terms of his Section 105A agreement, Tongo was sentenced to 18 years in prison, contingent on his testifying truthfully against Dewani in any future legal proceedings.

"[36] According to the terms of his Section 105A agreement, Qwabe was sentenced to 25 years in prison, contingent on his testifying truthfully in future legal proceedings relating to the case.

[29] In 2011, Mngeni's lawyer Vusi Tshabalala said his client had been suffocated with a plastic bag before signing a statement admitting his involvement in the killing, further saying police resorted to "irregular methods" because of the pressure they were under to solve the high-profile case.

[38] Despite having admitted to his role in the robbery and kidnapping of Anni Dewani in a videotaped confession, Mngeni pleaded not guilty at the start of his 2012 trial, saying he had an alibi and was not at the scene of the crime.

Tongo and Mbolombo were found to have fabricated telephone calls and text messages that did not exist and refused to identify a fifth conspirator referred to in taped recordings.

[54] On 22 January 2015, a complaint was lodged by the Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN), alleging judicial bias and prejudiced behaviour of Judge Traverso in the trial of Shrien Dewani.