Sunday Tribune

Police commissioner Bheki Cele has been warned not to make prosecutors jobs more difficult. Photo: Phill Magakoe

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National police commissioner General Bheki Cele has been told to shut up or risk ruining the case against Shrien Dewani, accused of murdering his beautiful bride, Anni, in a contrived hijacking in Cape Town.

Legal experts and opposition MPs voiced fears Cele’s comments could prejudice attempts by South Africa to get Dewani extradited from Britain to stand trial.

Justice minister Jeff Radebe had to step in at the weekend and give a public assurance South Africa was a constitutional democracy and Dewani’s rights would be protected in this country’s courts.

A frustrated Cele told the Sunday Tribune he was bitter the UK courts had given Dewani bail. He said he wanted the young widower speedily extradited to South Africa.

“We have a powerful case against him and the guy just needs to come down and clear his name.

”Yes he got bail, but we are working on the extradition. 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 in court,” said Cele.

Cele has been lambasted by foreign media for his comments on the case. He said: “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 spokesman on police, Dianne Kohler Barnard, said of Cele’s comments: “Really this is getting out of hand. The minister (of police) should tell his commissioner to ‘shut up’. Every time he opens his mouth, he shoots from the hip.”

She said Cele’s monkey slur was “racist and embarrassing”.

“I don’t know whether the man is naïve or not. He just bumbles. He should shut up now.”

Law professor Karthy Govender said: “We really must be restrained from making 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 [Dewani] makes the argument that he will not get a fair trial.”

UKZN lacademic Professor Robin Palmer shared such concerns: “His utterances create unnecessary perceptions. He’s a loose canon and this might give ammunition [to Dewani].”

Indeed, earlier this week British newspapers reported that Dewani’s lawyers would argue that he would not receive a fair trial here.

Radebe had to issue a statement that 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,” he said.

On Friday Dewani was granted bail of R2.7 million in a London court. He later left Wandsworth Prison and evaded reporters by hiding in the boot of his father’s car.

His bail coincided with shocking new claims about the millionaire.

Reporting on the tragic whodunit that has kept South Africa riveted, The Sun newspaper in the UK speculated that Dewani was gay.

The Sun said police were looking into claims that the couple were not the happy newlyweds they appeared to be, and that Dewani is secretly homosexual. It said police want to question Dewani about his sexuality, and whether it dashed Anni’s hopes of raising a family with him.

It also emerged this week that there was closed-circuit footage showing Dewani allegedly obtaining black market money to fund his wife’s murder. The police also have footage of him allegedly handing cash to the taxi driver who has turned state witness in the case.

Another revelation, made this time by the Afrikaans newspaper Die Burger, suggests Dewani flew into Cape Town International Airport at 11.45pm on November 6, about a week before he and his new bride arrived on honeymoon.

The couple was married in a lavish three-day traditional ceremony in Mumbai on October 27, 28 and 29.

And, even more sensationally, yesterday Eastern Cape police said they were probing whether Dewani was linked to the unsolved murder of a prominent King William’s Town doctor three years ago. The murdered doctor had links with Dewani’s family.

During his confession on Tuesday the taxi driver claimed Dewani had revealed he had ordered an earlier fake hijacking and killing in South Africa.

The revelation prompted Eastern Cape police to re-examine the murder of Dr Pox Raghavjee. The doctor was reported missing by his wife, Heather, on the morning of October 29, 2007.

Police found his body in his vehicle with a single gunshot wound to the head. They determined that robbery was not the motive. Raghavjee had R500 in his wallet and his watch and cell phone were not stolen.

Heather Raghavjee was one of the first people to console Dewani in Cape Town after Anni’s death.

Police spokeswoman, Captain Thozama Solani, said the case had always perplexed investigators.

“Even though there was a reward of R100 000 offered for information, there were no leads,” she said.- Sunday Tribune