CAPE TOWN - A South African judge has cleared British millionaire businessman Shrien Dewani of murdering his bride on their honeymoon, saying prosecutors failed to make the charge stick in a sensational trial where his sexuality played a key role.

Dewani walked free from a Cape Town court on Monday immediately after Judge Jeannette Traverso said the state's evidence had "fallen far below" the level needed to secure a conviction.

"The application is granted. The accused is found not guilty on this charge," Judge Traverso told a packed courtroom. Dewani is expected to be released and could fly home to Britain later on Monday.

ACQUITTED: Shrien Dewani was found not guilty of murder.

Prosecutors had said Dewani hired hitmen to kill his 28-year-old Swedish bride Anni in a staged hijacking in Cape Town in November 2010 because he is gay and felt trapped into marriage by family pressures.

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Dewani says he is bisexual and loved Anni.

The judge conceded that there were "a number of unanswered questions" about the Cape Town murder and acknowledged "strong public opinion" that Dewani should take the stand.

An undated photo of Shrien Dewani and Anni Dewani.

Judge Traverso also noted a plea by the murdered woman's family that Dewani should not be allowed to walk free without testifying, but said her ruling was based on law and could not be influenced by emotion.

She cited previous cases where it was established it would be unjust to force the accused to testify in his own defence simply in the hope that he would incriminate himself.

Dressed in an immaculate suit and tie, with his greying hair cropped short, Dewani, 34, stepped out of the dock and greeted his weeping mother and other members of his family.

The murdered woman's family also wept as they left the court in shock.

Anni Dewani's family said they were "deeply disappointed" with the judge's decision, especially because Shrien Dewani never had to take the stand to give his version of events.

"Today we feel as a family that the justice system has failed us," Anni's sister, Ami Denborg, told reporters outside the courtroom as family members wept nearby.

Both families are of Indian origin and had sat across the courtroom from each other since the trial began in October with graphic video of Anni's body sprawled across the seat of a taxi.

She had been killed with a single shot, execution style, prosecutors said.

AFP