Johannesburg - Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba said on Friday he was "shocked and stunned" by media reports about the Anni Dewani murder.
"What is clear is that a young woman met a brutal death at what should have been the happiest time of her life," he said in a statement.
He commended the work of the police and the legal system and encouraged them to continue striving to ensure "the full truth is brought to light, and justice done".
"Though we do not know the full facts, the speculation around the role of Anni Dewani's husband can only appal us," he said.
Anni, 28, from Sweden, was honeymooning in Cape Town when she and her husband, Shrien Dewani, were hijacked in a taxi on November 13.
Dewani claimed the hijackers forced him and the driver out of the vehicle. Anni's body was found in the abandoned vehicle the next day. She had been shot.
He was arrested in London on November 7 after handing himself over to authorities and appeared in the City of Westminster Magistrate's Court in connection with the death of his wife.
The arrest came hours after the Western Cape High Court heard it cost Dewani R15 000 to have his new bride killed. Cape Town shuttle driver Zola Tongo, 31, was jailed for an effective 18 years on Tuesday for his role in the plot, following a plea bargain with the State.
Tongo was convicted of murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and perverting the course of justice.
Two other people, Xolile Mnguni, 23, and Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25, face charges of murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping. They were expected to appear in court in February next year.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Makgoba-shocked-by-Dewani-case-20101210