I know why Shrien Dewani 'killed his bride,' claims South African police chief
By DAN NEWLING
Last updated at 12:40 PM on 18th January 2011
Last updated at 12:40 PM on 18th January 2011
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South Africa’s chief of police has claimed that his detectives have uncovered a motive which explains why British businessman Shrien Dewani allegedly killed his bride while on honeymoon in Cape Town.
General Bheki Cele told the country’s e.tv news channel that his officers now know why Mr Dewani commissioned two hitmen to kill his wife Anni Dewani on November 13th last year.
However, the commissioner refused to say what the motive was, instead saying that it will be revealed at an extradition hearing scheduled to take place in London this Thursday.
Motive: National Commissioner Bheki Cele claims he knows why Dewani allegedly hired hitmen to kill his wife
Anni Dewani, 28, was killed in November last year after the taxi she and her husband were travelling in was hijacked as it passed through a dirt poor township outside Cape Town.
Although four South Africans have been arrested in connection with the crime – and one sentenced to 18 years in jail – the country’s police insist the plot was 'masterminded' by Dewani himself.
Mr Dewani, who is currently on bail in Britain, denies all involvement.
His supporters point out that the South Africans have failed to provide even a flimsy motive which would explain why he allegedly killed his wife.
They also claim that the South Africans' naming of Mr Dewani as a suspect is a ploy to detract attention from the country's appalling crime rate.
General Cele is a controversial, outspoken figure in South Africa.
Husband and wife: Shrien Dewani with Anni
A career politician, he had no policing experience before taking on the top cop's role last year.
Four days after Anni Dewani was killed he insisted that Mr Dewani was 'not a suspect' in the case. He later admitted that he had been lying.
And a matter of days after Mr Dewani was formally named as a suspect, the policeman described him as 'a monkey who came all the way from London to murder his wife'.
Extradition hearing: Shrien Dewani attends Southmead police station as part of his bail conditions
The commissioner's comments are likely to be used by Shrien Dewani’s defence team as evidence that he would not get a fair trial in South Africa.
Meanwhile, the case’s senior detective Lieutenant Colonel Mark Barkhuizen is currently in London, where has reportedly asked British police to help his investigation.
Tlali Tlali, spokesman for South Africa’s Ministry of Justice, described the murder case against as a 'puzzle', the pieces of which the country’s detectives are still putting together.
He said: 'The idea here is to put pieces of the puzzle together and be able to present a watertight case in court, should Mr Dewani be extradited to SA to stand trial.'
He went on to reveal that South Africa has requested 'mutual legal assistance' from the British authorities, explaining: 'We have a reason to believe that there are leads to be pursued there [in the UK] that could help us put pieces of the puzzle together.'
(mailonline)
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