The trial of Shrien Dewani, accused of murdering his wife during their Cape Town honeymoon, is expected to continue on Wednesday in the Western Cape High Court.

On the first day of his trial on Monday, the British businessman sought to provide explanations to disprove claims he killed his wife Anni in 2010.

He is charged with murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and conspiracy to commit these crimes. He is also charged with defeating the ends of justice.

In a plea explanation handed to Deputy Judge President Jeanette Traverso and read out by his lawyer Francois van Zyl, Dewani described how he and Anni were the victims of a traumatic hijacking on Saturday, November 13, 2010.

The couple had been driven through Gugulethu in Cape Town by driver Zola Tongo when a group of men stopped the shuttle bus, took their belongings, forced him out and drove off with Anni. She was found dead in the minibus the following morning.

Initially seen as a hijacking that ended in tragedy, the incident took a darker turn when police claimed they had evidence that Dewani conspired with others to kill her.

Tongo said in a plea bargain, after which he was jailed for 18 years, that Dewani had offered him R15,000 to have Anni killed.

Accomplices Mziwamadoda Qwabe, and Xolile Mngeni, who shot Anni, were handed down a 25-year sentence and a life sentence respectively.

Dewani denied being guilty of the offences he had been charged with in the plea explanation.

He plea explanation stated that because of the traumatic experience, he had suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The document also makes mention of his personal circumstances, the relationship he had with Anni, and revealed he was bisexual and had had sexual interactions with both men and women. SAPA