As millionaire Shrien Dewani returned home to Bristol from Wandsworth prison on bail of R2.7 million, more extraordinary information about the murder of his beautiful Swedish wife Anni emerged this weekend:
* Monde Mbolombo, the man named by Zola Tongo – now serving 18 years in jail for his part in Anni’s killing – as the person who put him in touch with the hitmen, has posted some bizarre messages on his Facebook page.
On November 13, the night Anni was murdered, Mbolombo wrote in Xhosa: “Jengokuba undibilisela amanzi, awakho ayatsholoza.”
It is a metaphor that roughly translates as “while you are plotting against me I’m plotting against you”.
In a previous post he wrote: “He’s going to get over you and at that very moment your going to wish you had let him catch you. All the ladies out there stop playing with their men!!!”
There is still uncertainty about whether Mbolombo, who hails from East London, has been arrested or has turned state witness.
He worked for Protea Hotel’s Colosseum but left his job on November 30.
* Police have information that Shrien flew into Cape Town a week before his wife was killed. A local newspaper reported that this was on November 6 at 11.45pm.
This visit was shortly after the Dewanis’ opulent three-day wedding in India in late October.
The couple spent two nights at a lodge in Mpumalanga on November 10 and 11, and arrived in Cape Town on the morning of November 12. Anni was killed the next night.
* Heather Raghavjee, widow of King Williams Town doctor Pox Raghavjee, is out of the country.
Eastern Cape police confirmed yesterday that they were having a new look at Raghavjee’s hijacking and murder in 2007 after taxi driver Tongo claimed Shrien told him that he had arranged for someone to be killed in South Africa in 2007.
At the time of the Raghavjee murder, police had no leads, despite offering a R100 000 reward for information.
Immediately after Anni’s murder Heather Raghavjee came to Cape Town to comfort Shrien, along with King Williams Town business man Peter Dhaya.
Yesterday,
as police moved to question the Raghavjee family in King Williams Town, an angry doctor who worked at what had been Raghavjee’s practice, said: “Heather is out of the country. Stop hounding the family. You people are blowing this thing out of proportion.”
Meanwhile national police commissioner General Bheki Cele has been told to shut up or risk ruining the case against Shrien.
Legal experts and opposition MPs voiced fears that Cele’s comments could prejudice attempts by South Africa to get Shrien extradited from Britain so he can stand trial in South Africa.
Justice Minister Jeff Radebe had to step in at the weekend and give a public assurance that South Africa was a constitutional democracy and that Shrien’s rights would be protected in this country’s courts.
During a walkabout at a city mall yesterday, top cop Cele said one of the suspects had been out on bail at the time of Anni’s murder “for serious stuff”.
He did not name the suspect, but Weekend Argus has established he was referring to Xolile Mngeni, the first man arrested in the killing, and that the earlier charges included murder and attempted murder.
A frustrated Cele told the Sunday Tribune, Weekend Argus’s sister paper, that he was bitter about the British courts giving Shrien bail.
He said he wanted Shrien speedily extradited to South Africa.
“We have a powerful case against him and the guy just needs to come down and clear his name,” said Cele.
Cele said that he could not understand why Dewani and his legal team were opposed to extradition since it was known that the crime had been committed in South Africa.
“Yes he got bail, but we are working on the extradition,” said Cele.
“We did not like this at all, but the authorities there have assured us that they have put an electronic tag on him to prevent him from fleeing. The court imposed strict conditions on him to curtail his movement.
“I’m adamant we have collected concrete information to stand up in court. We have a powerful case against him and the guy just needs to come down and clear his name,” said Cele.
The police commissioner has been roasted by foreign media for saying: “A monkey came all the way from London to have his wife murdered here. Shrien thought we South Africans were stupid when he came all the way to kill his wife in our country. He lied to himself.”
DA MP and spokeswoman on policing Dianne Kohler Barnard said of Cele’s comments: “The minister should tell his commissioner to shut up. Every time this man opens his mouth, he shoots from the hip.”
She said Cele’s monkey slur was “racist and embarrassing”.
Law professor Karthy Govender said: “We really must be restrained from making any comments that might prejudice the case.
“One understands the national commissioner’s frustration as it appeared that the guy chose South Africa to commit this act.
“The people in power should not make this job any more difficult than it is now. We do not want a situation where he (Shrien) makes the argument that he will not get a fair trial,” said Govender.
Earlier last week British newspapers reported Shrien’s lawyers would argue he would not receive a fair trial here.
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe said these suggestions were “without the slightest foundation”.
“The sole purpose of his extradition is to allow him to stand trial, where he will be able to challenge the evidence against him and to lead any evidence, should he so decide, that might point to his innocence,” said Radebe. - Weekend Argus