Cape Town and London - The South African honeymoon murder inquiry was embroiled in a race row on Thursday night after a top policeman branded the victim’s Asian millionaire husband a “monkey”.
The extraordinary twist came as national police commissioner General Bheki Cele claimed Shrien Dewani arranged the hit on his bride two weeks into their marriage.
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.”
General Cele, who is black, is understood to have used “monkey” to denote bad behaviour rather than as a deliberate racial slur. But there were claims his words will fuel tensions between black South Africans and the country’s large Asian community, which plays a key role in the nation’s economy.
A friend of Dewani said the outburst showed there was “little hope” the 30-year-old care home owner would get a fair trial in South Africa
He said: “What chance has Shrien got of justice when the chief of police is calling him a monkey?
“This is the same officer who, only a few days ago, publicly declared Shrien was not a suspect.”
Dewani, from Bristol, is fighting extradition to South Africa after being accused of paying two hitmen to kill his wife Anni while the couple toured a township near Cape Town in a taxi last month.
He hopes to be released on £250 000 bail at an appeal hearing at the High Court on Friday, before his full extradition hearing is held next month.
On Thursday, distraught relatives of Anni pleaded with him to return to South Africa for trial.
Her uncle, Ashok Hindocha, said: “Every day this case is not heard is torture. Just come to South Africa and let the court decide. The South African police have been very co-operative and professional and we have confidence in them.”
Hindocha said that although he and Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, had spoken to Shrien since the murder they were too upset to listen to his account of what happened.
He said: “At the time, it was so shocking for us. He explained everything but I didn’t listen because we were all still very shaken.”
Anni’s brother, Anish Hindocha, told how relatives had travelled from around the world to attend the couple’s wedding in Mumbai last month. He said: “It was a fairy tale. Everything was so happy, and now this.
“Our sister was such a happy, caring, loving person. The most important thing is that the truth comes out.”
Shrien’s lawyer, Clare Montgomery, told the extradition hearing that her client did not “consent” to returning to South Africa.
Westminster magistrates heard allegations that he had arranged a similar hit on someone on a previous visit to the country, a claim vigorously denied by Shrien.
It comes as a British couple yesterday told how they spent a day with the newlyweds on safari at the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, just four days before the murder.
Beauty therapist Angela Bartlett, who was with her husband Chris, said Anni wore a diamond-encrusted Chanel necklace at dinner and appeared “well groomed”.
She said: “Anni was absolutely beautiful, very petite, the pictures of her don’t really do her justice. She was a stunning looking girl.
“He was well spoken and well-heeled. I imagined he came from a very nice, good family.”
Cele’s spokesman Nonkululeko Mbatha claimed: “He was aware from very early in the case of Shrien’s involvement, but was unable to say anything publicly until now. Mr Dewani must come back to South Africa to face justice here.”
Zola Tongo, the taxi driver Shrien allegedly hired to organise his bride’s death, was this week jailed for 18 years, reduced from 25 years after he implicated the Briton in the murder.
Two other men, Xolile Mngeni, 23, and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, face charges of murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping. They are due to appear in court next year. - Daily Mail