South African cops say motive behind Indian-origin bride’s murder found

LONDON - The investigators probing the murder of an Indian-origin woman who was killed during her honeymoon in Cape Town have discovered the motive behind the killing, the South African police chief has said.

South Africa’s chief of police General Bheki Cele said that investigators knew why Shrien Dewani, 31, allegedly took out a contract to kill his wife Anni in November last year when the couple was on their honeymoon tour.

According to British newspaper the Daily Express, the official declined to reveal the alleged evidence but said it is set to emerge at an extradition hearing in London Thursday.

Shrien was said to be “deeply hurt” by the allegations, the daily said.

Shrien’s spokesman Max Clifford was quoted as saying: “This is the most powerful man in the South African police. This clearly demonstrates why we are concerned about what would happen to Shrien if he goes back to South Africa. What chance does he have of justice when the chief of police has condemned him?”

The claim comes after Shrien’s friends said he was considering returning voluntarily to South Africa to stand trial over his wife’s death.

Swedish-born Anni, 28, was shot dead Nov 13 after gunmen hijacked their taxi as the couple drove through a notorious township in Cape Town.

Shrien, a millionaire from Bristol, has repeatedly denied allegations he staged the kidnap and paid their driver Zola Tongo 1,400 pounds for the crime.

Tongo, 31, was one of three men arrested in connection with the murder. He later made a plea bargain with prosecutors, claiming in court he had arranged for the gunmen to stage a carjacking after the victim’s husband offered him 1,400 pounds to murder his wife. Tongo was jailed for 18 years.

Shrien’s family members and friends claim police targeted him to detract attention from the country’s appalling crime rate.

General Cele told South Africa’s e.tv station: “We are very satisfied with the facts we have. Until we are out there in court, we can’t put out there what is our motive. We are having this hearing in the UK and if it needs to come out there, it will be fine. I don’t think it will be really proper for me to come out with a motive here.”

A South African police spokesman said: “We have a very strong case. We are confident we have everything we need for the extradition hearing.”

General Cele is an outspoken figure, a career politician who had no policing experience before taking his post last year. After Shrien was named as a suspect, the policeman described him as a “monkey who came from London to kill his wife here”.

Clifford said: “He has already branded Shrien a ‘murdering monkey’. Now he has tried and convicted him. You can understand why the family are so apprehensive about what awaits them if they go back to South Africa.”