The application to extradite Briton Shrien Dewani from the United Kingdom to South Africa is expected to take place in the City of Westminster Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, possibly without Dewani being present.
Dewani is wanted in South Africa to stand trial for the alleged contract murder of his wife, Anni, during their honeymoon in Cape Town in November.
According to the Mirror in the UK, Dewani pulled out of the extradition hearing “as his health worsens”.
Dewani’s lawyer, Taswell Papier, and South African justice authorities were not immediately available to confirm this, but according to the report his spokesperson, Max Clifford, said Dewani had been “very unwell in recent weeks”.
It was not immediately clear how this would affect Thursday’s proceedings if confirmed.
Spur-of-the-moment decision
Shuttle bus driver Zola Tongo was sentenced to 18 years in prison last year in a plea agreement in which he implicated Dewani in Anni’s murder. According to his statement he was paid by Dewani to stage a hijacking.
Anni was last seen alive after the couple made a spur-of-the-moment decision to visit a restaurant in Gugulethu outside Cape Town.
At the time, Dewani said that they had been hijacked and he had been pushed out of the vehicle. Anni’s body was later found in the car in nearby Khayelitsha.
Two other people — Xolile Mnguni and Mziwamadoda Qwabe — are in custody in South Africa for their alleged roles in the murder, which according to Tongo, was a paid hit.
Dewani is to be represented by Papier, who once represented Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on sexual-assault allegations made against him while he was in Cape Town. — Sapa