S.Africa appeals Briton’s bail over honeymoon murder

LONDON, (Reuters) – A millionaire Briton accused of  murdering his bride while the couple were on honeymoon in South  Africa must remain in custody after South African authorities  appealed against a London court granting him bail yesterday.

Businessman Shrien Dewani, 30, was held by extradition  officers on behalf of South African authorities after handing  himself in to a police station near his home in Bristol, western  England, late on Tuesday.

Shrien and Anni on their Wedding Day

He is accused of conspiring to murder his 28-year-old wife  Anni, a former model and Swedish national, who was shot dead  last month in Cape Town. Dewani denies any involvement in her  murder.

He was granted bail of 250,000 pounds ($395,000) at a  central London court, but the South African authorities  immediately lodged an appeal, which means he will be held in  custody pending another court hearing.

In court, Dewani said he did not consent to any extradition.

His lawyer said her client was accused by a group of  self-confessed robbers and murderers desperate to escape a life  sentence.

She branded the case against him as “flimsy” and suggested  it was cooked up to defend the reputation of South Africa as a  tourist destination, the Press Association reported.

But prosecutors at his bail hearing argued he remained the  chief suspect and the instigator behind the murder.

“I’m totally innocent of any involvement in this horrendous  crime. These allegations are totally ludicrous and … very  hurtful to a young man who is grieving the loss of the woman he  loved,” Dewani said in a statement.

Outside court the family of Anni Dewani said they wanted a  trial to take place and for him to be extradited.

“We just want to see justice being done, all the evidence  being listened to and a fair trial — justice for Anni is all we  are looking for,” they told reporters in a joint statement.

On Tuesday, South African state prosecutor Rodney de Kock  told the Western Cape High Court that taxi driver Zola Tongo,  arrested after the murder, was offered 15,000 rand ($2,165) by  Dewani as part of plot.

“The deceased was murdered at the instance of her husband,”  de Kock said in reading out a plea bargain agreement in which  Tongo pleaded guilty to all four charges, including murder and  robbery with aggravating circumstances.

The court was told that Dewani approached Tongo shortly  after arriving in South Africa and helped mastermind the murder.

Tongo was sentenced to an effective 18 years in prison while  two of his co-accused remain in prison.