UPDATE - Shrien Dewani, the man accused in the murder of his wife Anne Dewani is reported to have attempted to commit suicide

Anni Dewani was shot dead after being kidnapped in a taxi in Cape Town with her husband

From the very beginning there has been an enormous amount of controversy over this case. On 13 November 2010, Shrien and Anni Dewani hired a taxi driven by a Zola Tonga to drive them through to Gugulethu Township outside of Capetown. Sometime during the late hours of the evening the taxi was hi-jacked and soon after, it apprears Mr Dewani and the taxi driver were both thrown out of the vehicle which continued on with Anni still in it.

Anni Dewani's body was found in the abandoned taxi the next morning, she had been shot. South African police were quick to gather information and a few days later the taxi driver, Zola Tonga aged 31, was arrested and charged with the murder. While in police custody Tonga indicated that he had recieved payment of R15000.00 from Mr Dewani for the purpose of murdering Anni. Tonga was quickly brought to trial were he was found guilty of murder, kidnapping and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Zola Tonga was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment.

Two others, Xolili Mngeni - aged 23, and Mzwamadodo Quabe - aged 26, were arrested and charged for the same crimes as Tonga. They will both be appearing in court on the 25 February.

After the murder of Anni Dewani, Shrien was questioned by the police and allowed to return to England. When the accusations of Shriens involvement in the murder were announced, a request was made by the South African Police Services that he return to South Africa and extraditions papers were served.

Things did seem to be going smoothly until the South African national Police Commissioner, Bheki Cele, made the statement, "One monkey came from London to kill his wife here. He thought we South Africans were stupid. Don't kill people here." Not a clever thing to state publicly no matter how one feels about a case.

Next we had Shrien's family worrying about the judge set to preside over the trial. Judge John Hlophe has been at the centre of some controversies since being appointed President of the Western Cape High Court in 2000. The main worry being that in South Africa trials are conducted by a judge and no jury.

We now find ourselves with the South African Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Menzi Semelani accusing Dewani of ordering his new wife's murder and of committing a "heinous crime." Mr Semelani continued to state over national television, "This is a pure criminal matter of somebody who murdered his wife whilst he should be celebrating his honeymoon. The facts here are that the accussed that is sought to be extradited came to the country and committed what is a very heinous crime."

Spokesperson for Mr Dewani, Max Clifford, has made the statement that it appears that Mr Dewani has been pre-judged and should he be returned to South Africa it is very unlikely he will receive a fair and just trial.

With all this going on it is easy to understand why Mr Dewani made an attempt to take his own life. Guilty or not he deserves a fair trial and it does not seem he will get that in South Africa. He did not run away from South Africa but was given permission to leave so he cannot, as according to Semelini, be a fugitive from justice.

Perhaps it would be better for the British courts to refuse extradition and if Mr Dewani is guilty and gets away with the murder of his wife we can all lay the blame on South African justice and police services.

Shrien Dewani, the man accused in the murder of his wife Anni while on honeymoon in South Africa last year is reported to have attempted to commit suicide by taking an overdose of pills. The reason for this attempt has been given as the result of post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the murder of his wife. He is now in a Bristol hospital recovering.