MONKEY BUSINESS
by Mike Nicol
(Random House/Struik, R135)
The end of this month will mark a year since beauty Anni Dewani married her handsome husband Shrien, only to be killed days later while on honeymoon in Cape Town.
First there was the shocking news that the newlywed was shot dead in an apparent hijacking in Gugulethu, on the outskirts of Cape Town on November 13 last year.
Days later, after the arrest of the alleged henchmen, came the chilling reports that her husband was a suspect.
Although the British Home Secretary has signed an order for his extradition, Shrien Dewani is appealing and we are waiting to hear whether he will be delivered to South Africa to face trial for his alleged involvement in the killing which has gripped not only this country and the UK, but perhaps the world.
The motive for the killing – if not an ordinary hijacking gone wrong – remains unknown. While there has been speculation, there has been little to explain the events leading up to the murder of the 28-year-old newlywed.
So when offered the opportunity to review this book by Nicol, a respected author of, among others, Mandela: the Authorised Portrait, I was thrilled, as I was sure a book, even written at this early stage, would provide some interesting bits of information which had slipped by me.
My expectations were raised when I read the media release claiming that Monkey Business is no ordinary report of murder, but rather a “rivetting account of another tale” being that of the voices that contributed to the shaping of the Dewani story in the local and international media.
Nicol, does, in all fairness, mention that the book is made up of extracts from newspapers, blogs, Facebook and Twitter, as well as on the feelings of friends and families on both sides (as already reported in the media).
I was still hoping for something new, but was disappointed.
Being a reporter, I have read most of what had previously been said regarding the killing. I am sure that many, if not most, news-paper reading and television watching people also know the story of Anni Dewani, as it has unfolded up to now. This is basically a bare denial by her husband that he was involved and the yet untested allegations by the two accused who still have to stand trial.
The driver of the “hijacked” vehicle that night, Zola Zongo, confessed to the killing and received an 18-year jail sentence in terms of a plea bargain agreement. He implicated Shrien, but his evidence stands untested as his plea of guilty was accepted by the State.
A substantial portion of the book is also devoted to the grief on both sides of the families – something widely reported on before.
So while the tale of Anni and Shrien is a gripping one, which, if the truth is ever revealed, would make a fascinating book and even a movie, I think a book at this stage on the available information is perhaps a bit premature.
Yet, on the other hand, for those who did not follow the news in this regard, it would provide fascinating reading. But I will surely read the sequel one day, when Nicol will hopefully have more to reveal.