Judge says British newlywed unlikely to skip extradition hearing
guardian.co.uk, Friday 10 December 2010 12.27 GMT
The British newlywed accused of hiring a hitman to kill his bride was granted bail on stringent conditions and a £250,000 surety after a high court judge ruled today that he was unlikely to abscond.
South Africa wants to extradite Shrien Dewani, 30, a Bristol care home owner, for conspiracy to murder his new wife, Anni, 28, who was found dead in the back of an abandoned taxi in a Cape Town township with a single bullet wound to her neck on 13 November.
Lawyers for the South African authorities were appealing against a decision to grant bail earlier this week at City of Westminster magistrates court. Ben Watson, for the South Africans, argued that "significant new evidence" demonstrated there was "a very powerful case against Mr Dewani" and increased the risk of him taking flight if allowed bail.
Watson told Mr Justice Ouseley this included new CCTV footage and independent evidence that Dewani had obtained money on the black market, allegedly to fund the murder.
But the judge ruled there was "strong support" for the submission that Dewani would not flee. The judge said: "I have concluded that he has a continuing and realistic interest in making sure that he clears his name."
He had no criminal convictions, was professionally qualified and his family was of high standing in Bristol, with no obvious interest in helping him to abscond, the judge said.
Because of the "tragic and terrible murder of his wife", his face was well known and it would be difficult for him to leave the UK or "go underground", the judge added.
The South African extradition request came after a taxi driver, Zola Tongo, accused Dewani of offering to pay 15,000 rand (£1,400) for his wife's murder and ordering it to look like a bungled carjacking as they drove through the notorious township of Gugulethu.
Tongo's allegation formed part of a plea agreement drawn up with prosecutors at Western Cape high court in South Africa, where he was jailed earlier this week for 18 years for his part in the killing. Two other men face trial in South Africa and deny murder.