Cape Town - Wednesday is D-Day for alleged honeymoon killer Shrien Dewani - he is due to hear whether he will be sent back to Cape Town to stand trial.
It will be almost three years since Anni Dewani was found murdered in Gugulethu on November 13, 2010, while on her honeymoon.
South African authorities applied for Dewani’s extradition and Wednesday the final ruling was due to be delivered in the UK.
The National Prosecuting Authority’s Eric Ntabazalila said on Tuesday night: “We initially wanted all the accused to appear in Cape Town, and our wish is still for him to come to Cape Town and face these charges.”
Ntabazalila said if the British court ruled that Dewani be extradited, a time frame for the process would be included in the court ruling.
Speaking from Sweden on Tuesday night, Ashok Hindocha, Anni’s uncle, said: “I’m pretty confident the judge is going to rule that he must be extradited - that is my hope - so that we can have a trial in South Africa and get closure on this case as soon as possible.”
Hindocha was travelling to the UK on Tuesday night and would meet family members already there for Wednesday’s ruling.
“If the judge rules that he must be extradited, then he will have 28 days to return to South Africa - unless he appeals again and it’s delayed again.
“But I expect to come to sunny South Africa very soon… ”
Taxi driver Zola Robert Tongo said Dewani had offered him R15 000 to have his wife killed. After a plea bargain he was sentenced in December 2010 to 18 years in jail.
Mziwamadoda Qwabe pleaded guilty last August to the murder of Anni Dewani, pictured, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Xolile Mngeni, 23, was convicted last November of her murder and sentenced to life.
Back in the UK, Senior District Judge Howard Riddle initially ruled Dewani could be extradited to face charges.
The extradition order was approved by Home Secretary Theresa May on September 28, 2011, but a high court ruling in March 2012 ordered that the extradition be halted, based on expert witnesses’ opinion of Dewani’s mental health.
Earlier this month, Dewani’s barrister, Claire Montgomerie, told the Westminster Magistrate’s Court that her client’s condition could deteriorate after extradition, and this was a risk that had to be taken into account in the final ruling.
She said: “If he cannot get fit here after two-and-a-half years, one has to recognise, given the severity of his condition, that he may never get fit.”
Arguing for a six-month adjournment to see if his condition would improve while being treated in Britain, she said: “There is no logic or sense in returning him at this delicate stage.”
Montgomerie said what was different from previous hearings was that medical experts agreed Dewani was “never likely to make a full recovery” from either of his now chronic disorders.
Dewani’s post-traumatic stress disorder was severe, his depressive illness was moderate to severe, and his current risk of self-harm was real and significant, but not immediate.
Hugo Keith, for the South African government, argued it would not be oppressive to extradite Dewani, suggesting it was now a “different ball game” in terms of his diagnosis, ability to concentrate, suicide risk and overall progress.
He told the court that “unprecedented” undertakings had been taken to ensure Dewani would get a high standard of care for his mental health.
Psychiatrist Ian Cumming had visited South Africa and was confident the standard of Dewani’s ongoing medical treatment would be “robust” and would not drop once he left Britain.
Cape Argus