Dewani fit to stand trial
Shrien Dewani, the British billionaire accused of murdering his wife Anni with the help of taxi driver Zola Tongo in Gugulethu, has been found fit to stand trial after a psychiatric evaluation at Valkenberg, Cape Town
After a unanimous decision by the mental health panel, including state-appointed psychiatrist Professor Tuviah Zabow, Shrien Dewani has been found to be mentally fit to stand trial.
Dewani has a hearing scheduled in September, and his trial will start early October.
This comes after his treatment at Cape Town’s Valkenberg State Psychiatric Hospital since his extradition to the country in April 2014. Dewani is reported to have attempted suicide on at least one occasion in the UK, which partly prompted this psychiatric evaluation.
Dewani is accused of hiring two South African men, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and Zola Tongo, to murder his wife Anni in November 2010. Tongo and Qwabe, have agreed to testify against Dewani as part of a plea bargain.
Both claimed that Dewani co-ordinated a kidnapping, robbery and murder. They were sentenced to 18 and 25 years in prison, respectively.
Dewani has not yet been asked to plead.