Link between 2007 murder and Dewani case probed

Police National Commissioner General Bheki Cele confirmed on Saturday that police are investigating a link between the 2007 murder of an Eastern Cape doctor and the murder of tourist Anni Dewani, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news reported.

“We are continuing investigations. There are new revelations about the Eastern Cape ...

So let’s see what’s going on,” Bheki Cele said as reported by the SABC.

Media reports said Dr Pox Raghavjee was apparently murdered in 2007 in King William’s Town.

His widow allegedly knew Shrien Dewani and drove to Cape Town to comfort him after the death of his wife.

SABC reported that Shrien allegedly told state witness Zola Tongo that he had arranged a murder in a fake hijacking in South Africa before.

Cele was doing a walkabout at the Cape Gate Mall in Brakenfell outside Cape Town when he informed the media of the investigation into the link.

He also said a fourth suspect named as a “middleman” by Tongo is in reach of police when needed, the SABC reported.

Mystery
The Saturday Star reported that police spokesperson Captain Thozama Solani said police were now investigating if there were any links between the case of Raghavjee’s murder and Anni’s murder.

“The case [of Raghavjee] had always been open and remained a mystery to us because even though there was a R100  000 reward offered there were no leads. But in light of the new information we are putting all we have got in solving the case,” Solani reportedly said.

The National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Mthunzi Mhaga, referred the South African Press Association to police on the matter and said it was an “investigative and not a prosecutive matter”.

Brigadier Sally De Beer was not immediately available for comment.

The British businessman is accused of arranging the murder of his wife, 28-year-old Anni, in Cape Town. The woman was found dead in the back of an abandoned taxi with a bullet wound to her neck.

Dewani was released on bail on Friday while authorities in South Africa want the 30-year-old British citizen extradited for the hearing to be held here.—Sapa