Honeymoon husband ‘traumatised’ after night behind bars
The husband of Anni Dewani, who was murdered on their honeymoon in South Africa is “traumatised” after being arrested on suspicion of conspiring to murder her, Channel 4 News has been told.
Shrien Dewani was held last night by Scotland Yard extradition officers after a request from the South African authorities and he is due to face Westminster Magistrates Court later today.
Mrs Dewani was shot dead last month as the couple, who had only been married for a fortnight, visited an impoverished township.
Yesterday, taxi driver Zola Tongo said he was offered 15,000 rand (£1,300) by businessman Mr Dewani, 30, to kill his wife.
Mr Dewani, from Westbury-on-Trym in Bristol, handed himself in at a police station in the city yesterday, the Metropolitan Police said.
Max Clifford, Mr Dewani’s spokesman, said that his client was reeling after spending the night behind bars.
He told Channel 4 News this morning: “He’s obviously shellshocked and traumatised after a spending the night in custody; it was a nervous night.”
Mr Clifford said that said Mr Dewani and his legal team were anxious to “get to the bottom of what deal was done with a convicted murderer to get to this ridiculous situation.”
Yesterday, the Dewani family dismissed the allegation as “totally ludicrous” and Mr Clifford said he beleived that Mrs Dewani’s family were also fully behind his client.
Swedish Mrs Dewani, 28, was shot dead on November 13 after the couple’s taxi was hijacked in the Gugulethu township in Cape Town.
Mr Dewani, who was released along with the driver by the carjackers, returned to England after the murder and has repeatedly denied any involvement in his wife’s death.
Tongo’s allegation formed part of a plea agreement drawn up with prosecutors at the court, where he was jailed for 18 years for his part in the killing on 13 November.
Mr Dewani’s spokesman, Max Clifford, yesterday described the accusations as the latest in a string of false allegations against his client.
In a statement, the Dewani family said: “Shrien is totally innocent of any involvement in this heinous crime.
“These allegations are totally ludicrous and very hurtful to a young man who is grieving the loss of the woman he loved, his chosen life partner.
“South African police have never sought to speak to Shrien regarding the allegations. Instead, two weeks have been spent negotiating this confession from the taxi driver while the two others accused have complained of torture and false confessions.”
In his formal admission, 31-year-old Tongo said he was waiting for fares at Cape Town International Airport when Mr Dewani asked to be driven to the five-star Cape Grace hotel where he allegedly offered the money to “have a client of his taken off the scene”.
The “hijacking” was arranged with the help of two hitmen – Xolile Mnguni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, both from Khayelitsha – for the next evening, he said.
He told the court: “They then drove off with Shrien Dewani and the deceased still in the vehicle.
“I knew that (the hitmen) would not harm Shrien Dewani and that he would be dropped off at some further point. I also knew that the deceased would be kidnapped, robbed and murdered…after Shrien Dewani had been ejected from the vehicle in accordance with the plan.”
Mnguni, 23, and Qwabe, 25, also face charges of murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping and will appear at Wynberg Regional Court on February 25.