Dewani's sadomasochistic sex 'not relevant

STATE prosecutors will have to convince a judge of the Cape Town High Court that the testimony of a man to whom Shrien Dewani paid hundreds of pounds for sadomasochistic sex is relevant to the trial.

Testifying yesterday, German male escort Leopold Leisser told the court he had three sexual encounters with Dewani – the last just a month before Dewani proposed to Swedish beauty Anni.

Dewani is accused of orchestrating her murder on their honeymoon in Cape Town.

Leisser said he specialised in sadomasochism and had worked as an escort for years. But for Dewani he had bent some rules.

"[Dewani] was the first client to sleep over," Leisser said.

He is better known in cyberspace as the German Master.

But before he could continue, Dewani's counsel, Pieter Botha, lashed out at state prosecutor Adrian Mopp.

"We sat here to allow my colleague leeway to present some background ... but what is the relevance?" Botha asked.

"Yes, what is the relevance?" Judge Jeanette Traverso asked.

Mopp said Leipoldt would testify that Dewani had told him he was engaged and his family would disown him should he break it off.

Earlier in the trial, Traverso had ruled inadmissible testimony from a Scotland Yard detective who found sexual e-mails between Dewani and another man.

Traverso said Dewani's sexuality was of little consequence.

She told Leisser to step down and instructed the state and defence to provide written submissions arguing why Leisser should continue.

In Leisser's statement to the UK police in 2011, he said their last session was drug-fuelled.

"During the session he took cocaine and ketamine, his usage of drugs would have been agreed prior to the session," he said.

"I believe there was somewhere in the region of 10 bags [of drugs] in the apartment.

"He sniffed the cocaine and ketamine and also rubbed cocaine onto his nipples on more than one occasion," Leisser said.

Dewani brought rubber shorts and a vest to their first liaison.

Former shuttle operator Zola Tongo, who is serving 18 years in prison for orchestrating Anni's death, told the court that he had tried hard to market himself while driving the couple to their hotel on November 12 2010 because he had wanted them to use his services during their stay.

At the hotel, Dewani allegedly told him: "I have a job for you."

Tongo said he was excited and thought his hunger was over.

But it was not the job he had in mind – Dewani allegedly wanted a woman dead.

Tongo then approached his friend, Monde Mbolombo, who helped recruit the hitmen.

On the night of the murder, he tried to rope in another friend to drive the couple, but to no avail.

"My knees were shaking and I was scared," Tongo said. "But I carried on with the job." - Philani Nomembe and Nashira Davids