London - The British businessman whose bride was murdered on their honeymoon in Cape Town has been asked to return to the city “within days”, it has been reported.
South African police want Shrien Dewani to identify suspects in the murder of his wife, Anni.
The request for Dewani, 30, to return to Cape Town comes as it is reported that detectives have started to question his account of the events which led to his wife’s death.
Police are reportedly puzzled as to how Dewani – who was thrown from the couple’s hijacked taxi 20 minutes after it was taken – escaped with no visible injuries.
Zola Tongo, the Congolese driver of the taxi, has gone into hiding after turning state witness. And officers are reported to have said they will soon make an “explosive revelation”.
But Dewani’s family in the UK have hit back at any suggestions he was involved in the murder.
A family friend yesterday said any such accusations were “outrageous”.
Dewani was buried in a private ceremony in London on Sunday.
Millionaire businessman Dewani and his 28-year-old wife of two weeks were hijacked on the evening of Saturday, November 13, as they returned to their five-star central Cape Town hotel from an evening meal.
They had asked Tongo, 31, to drive them through the city’s impoverished township of Guglethu so they could experience a flavour of “the real Africa”.
But within three minutes of leaving the motorway, two gunmen hijacked the taxi with the couple inside. Dewani was thrown out of the people carrier’s back window.
Nine hours later his wife’s body was discovered dumped in the back of the abandoned taxi.
Stung by international criticism of its sky-high crime rate, South Africa’s police force has been under intense pressure to solve this crime quickly.
Perhaps keen that someone other than a South African be found culpable, some detectives are reported to have questioned Dewani’s account of his role in the incident.
And the South African media have asked why the police’s main witness was able to leave the country so soon – before being able to identify any of the three men who have been arrested in connection with the crime.
More than one newspaper has even started referring to the incident as “an apparent hijack”.
However, when chief of police, General Bheki Cele, was asked about Dewani’s status, he said: “The young man has gone back home with the understanding that he will be available for questioning.”
He added: “He’s not a suspect so we could not hold him against his will.”
On Sunday, a family friend said: “The family are attending Anni’s funeral and are still very upset. Any suggestion that he had anything to do with this is outrageous.
“They were on their honeymoon and these rumours are disgusting.
“He is already having to go back to Cape Town and is very upset about that.”
Police have arrested three men in connection with the hijacking – two 26-year-old men from Khayelitsha and a 31-year-old man from the city centre.
Police say they recovered a watch, two cellphones and a bangle, which belonged to the Dewanis. They have also found a gun “which could be linked to the crime”. - Daily Mail