JUDGE DISMISSES DEWANI RENT BOY WITNESS

After flying all the way to South Africa to testify, a British-based fetish rent boy has been dismissed as a witness in the Shrien Dewani murder trial in the Western Cape High Court.

On Monday morning, Leopold Leisser, who works under the name The German Master, took the stand but didn’t get to say very much.

He confirmed that Dewani had paid for his services, which include role-playing and S&M, a number of times, and that the murder accused had once slept over at his home.

An annoyed Judge Jeanette Traverso reiterated that continued evidence in the trial about Dewani’s sexuality was not relevant as he had already confirmed that he is bisexual.

She wanted to know how Leisser’s testimony would prove that Dewani was guilty of hiring men to kill his wife, Anni, and if not, why it is relevant.

“You cannot tell me it must be relevant, you must tell me why it is relevant,” Traverso told prosecutor Adrian Mopp before dismissing Leisser as a witness. She told the prosecution to prepare a written statement instead.

The move is another blow to the state’s case against Dewani, which appears to be to show that Dewani lived a secret gay life, married Anni under pressure from his family and society and then had her killed to get out of the marriage.

Two weeks ago, Judge Traverso also ruled that e-mails sourced from Dewani’s computer by a British cyber-crime expert relating to his sexuality were irrelevant and inadmissible.

Dewani is facing five charges related to allegedly hiring men to kill Anni in a staged hijacking while on honeymoon in Cape Town in 2010; charges which he denies.