Murdered honeymoon bride Anni Dewani’s family plans to be present in a London court when her widower, suspected of masterminding her killing, hears whether he will be extradited to South Africa to stand trial.
A formal extradition hearing of Shrien Dewani is expected in a London court from May 3 to 5.
South African authorities are trying to get Dewani, now in a British psychiatric clinic after a suicide attempt two months ago, to return to South Africa so he can appear in a Cape Town court for his wife’s November 13 murder in Khayelitsha.
On Tuesday, Anni’s father, Vinod Hindocha, said he, his wife, Nilam, and the rest of their family planned to go to London so that they could be present for the extradition hearing.
“My whole family wants to be there,” he said in a telephone interview from his family’s home in Sweden.
The two alleged hit men in the case, Xolile Mngeni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, were expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on June 1.
If Dewani was ordered to return to South Africa during his May extradition hearing, he would have to appear in the court with Mngeni and Qwabe.
Hindocha said if this happened, he would come to Cape Town for the trial.
If Dewani was not extradited, Hindocha said, he would have to think about whether he would come to Cape Town for Mngeni’s and Qwabe’s court appearance. “This is a real torture for us. We just need closure. We’re coping and getting along, but we need closure so we can get on with our lives.”
Earlier this month, Hindocha and his wife retraced their daughter’s last journey in Cape Town where she and Dewani had come as part of their honeymoon.
They had gone to the spot in Khayelitsha where Anni’s body, with a bullet to the neck, was discovered on the back seat of a car.
The Hindochas held a ceremony at the spot to say goodbye to their daughter.
“That was a very touching thing for us. It took a lot of courage for my wife to go there,” Hindocha said.
He said he was thinking of erecting a statue or permanent memorial near the spot where his daughter’s body was found.
He had not spoken to Dewani or any of Dewani’s relatives since soon after Anni’s murder.
On Tuesday, Dewani’s British spokesman, Max Clifford, said his client was doing well in The Priory, a psychiatric clinic in Bristol. A court had ordered that Dewani be admitted after he had tried to commit suicide in his home while out on bail.
“(His) family are glad he’s being looked after. They know he’s going through a terrible time,” Clifford said. - Cape Times
caryn.dolley@inl.co.za
http://www.thestar.co.za/we-need-closure-anni-s-dad-1.1049252
