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Two men arrested in South Africa over killing of businessman's wife were tortured by police, their lawyers have told the Guardian
Two men arrested in South Africa over the killing of the wife of British businessman Shrien Dewani were tortured by police, their lawyers have told the Guardian.
If true, the claims would call into question the credibility of the investigation, which has implicated Dewani in an alleged plot to murder his wife during their honeymoon.
One of the men says he was beaten "all over his body" with a heavy torch and a statement he gave to the South African police was "suggested" to him by officers. A second man alleges that when he was interrogated, police punched him and used a plastic bag to suffocate him.
The claims will be looked at carefully by lawyers for Dewani, 31, who is at home in Bristol suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder awaiting an extradition hearing.
That hearing is due to take place at the start of May but one of the issues Dewani's legal team is examining is the conduct of the case in South Africa. The allegations will also alarm members of Dewani's family, who are concerned that his security cannot be guaranteed if he is taken back to South Africa.
Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, and Xolile Mngeni, 26, were arrested after the body of 28-year-old Anni Dewani was found in the back of a taxi. She had been shot. The men are in prison awaiting trial for murder and are due in court next week.
Dewani told police that the taxi he and his wife were travelling in was hijacked in Gugulethu township, near Cape Town. He and the driver were ordered from the car but his wife was driven off.
Qwabe's lawyer, Thabo Nogemane, told the Guardian: "I am instructed that some unknown police officer assaulted him by means of a big torch. He was hit all over his body. He said the statement was a suggestion put to him by the police. They already had the allegations so they told him: 'Just sign here.' I wouldn't refer to it as a confession, just a statement."
Vusi Tshabalala, Mngeni's lawyer, told the Guardian that his client had also been abused. "In the process of interrogating him, police would physically assault him with fists and use a plastic bag to suffocate him. He was frightened." Tshabalala believes the police used "irregular methods" because they were under pressure to solve such a high-profile crime.
The Guardian has also learned that it took only 36 hours for a plea bargain to be arranged with the third South African accused over Anni's killing – taxi driver Zola Tongo, who is serving a reduced sentence for his part in the murder in exchange for his testimony against Dewani.
Tongo arrived in a police station at noon on the Saturday after the killing. By Sunday evening the deal had been arranged. Supporters of Dewani are amazed at the speed of the deal and do not believe it could have given the police enough time to check out Tongo's claims. Other papers seen by the Guardian show apparent inconsistencies in accounts of the alleged plot that may be seized on by Dewani's legal team. One account, which has not been aired in court, suggests Qwabe and Mngeni had not planned to kill Anni Dewani.
The family of Swedish-born Anni said waiting for the judicial process to run its course was deeply painful.
Anni's uncle, Ashok, told the Guardian: "The slowness of the process continues to be torture. It's like salt in the wounds that opened up with her death. We wake up in the mornings thinking of Anni and by the end of the day we're still waiting for answers. We need closure.
"There is no joy left in our family. It must be the same for the Dewanis. Why doesn't he just end everyone's suffering, including his own, by voluntarily getting on a plane to South Africa? That is my big question at the moment."
The Dewani family would not comment on the case but are not criticising the South African authorities or judiciary. A spokesperson said: "The matter is subject to legal proceedings and the family is confident that Shrien's name will be cleared."
The police refused to comment on the claims. Spokeswoman Sally De Beer said: "I'm not going to respond to any question because it is a matter before the courts."