UK signs order to extradite “honeymoon murder” suspect to South Africa
Shrien Dewani leaves Belmarsh Magistrates Court on March 15, 2011 in London, England. Dewani is fighting extradition to South Africa after authorities there want him to stand trial for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill his bride Anni on their honeymoon. On September 28, 2011, the UK secretary of state signed an extradition order for Dewani to be tried in South Africa.
The UK secretary of state on Wednesday signed an extradition order for Shrien Dewani, a British businessman accused of arranging for hitmen to kill his wife in a staged carjacking while they were on holiday in South Africa.
A British judge ruled last month that Dewani should be extradited to South Africa to stand trial. The British Home Office will send a signed copy of the extradition order to the High Commission for transmission to South Africa, and Dewani will have 14 days to give notice of appeal, the South African Press Association reports.
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Anni Dewani, 28, was shot dead last November in an apparent carjacking in the impoverished, crime-ridden Gugulethu township near Cape Town.
Taxi driver Zola Tongo, who claimed in a plea bargain that Dewani had offered him 15,000 South African rand (about $2,200) to arrange Anni's murder, is already serving an 18-year jail sentence.
Last week, two men accused of plotting with Dewani to kill Anni appeared in a Cape Town court, the Guardian reports. Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, who were also allegedly hired by Dewani, will stand trial next year. They are accused of murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.
Dewani, 31, has strongly denied any involvement in Anni's murder and has been fighting extradition to South Africa.
On his return to the UK, Dewani was diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. His lawyers had said he was too ill to travel.