Second high-profile extradition in 2014

Honeymoon murder-accused Shrien Dewani is expected in the country on April 8 to face charges related to the killing of his wife Anni. File photo: AP

Honeymoon murder-accused Shrien Dewani is expected in the country on April 8 to face charges related to the killing of his wife Anni. File photo: AP

Published Mar 24, 2014

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Johannesburg - The South African legal system and judiciary has been flexing its muscles in 2014 with two high-profile extraditions in the first few months of the year.

Honeymoon murder-accused Shrien Dewani is expected in the country on April 8 to face charges related to the murder of his wife Anni.

His extradition follows that of George Louca.

Louca returned to South Africa in February after losing his final appeal in the Cypriot Supreme Court, the last of several attempts to avoid extradition.

He fled South Africa after the murder of strip club boss Lolly Jackson at a house in Edenglen, on the East Rand, on May 3, 2010.

Speaking on the Dewani extradition, justice department spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said he was expected to leave London on April 7 and land in South Africa the next day.

“Upon arrival the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) and SAPS (SA Police Service) will cause him to appear in the Western Cape High Court depending on the time of his arrival,” Mhaga said in a statement.

“He will be kept at a medical facility due to his peculiar medical condition.”

Mhaga said they were working tirelessly to ensure that his return to the country brought finality to the protracted legal process.

“We are confident that he will receive a fair trial in our courts,” he said.

Dewani claims he and Anni were kidnapped at gun point as they drove through Gugulethu in Cape Town in a taxi in November 2010.

Dewani was released unharmed. The next day his wife's body was found in the abandoned car. She had been shot dead.

The couple were on honeymoon at the time.

Xolile Mngeni was convicted of the murder and jailed for life. Prosecutors allege Dewani hired him to kill his wife.

Taxi driver Zola Tongo was jailed for 18 years after he admitted his part in the killing. Another accomplice, Mziwamadoda Qwabe, pleaded guilty to murder and received a 25-year prison sentence.

Dewani, who is being detained in hospital in Britain under the Mental Health Act, has denied any part in the murder. - Sapa

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