Shrien and Anni Dewani
Shrien Dewani denies planning the murder of his wife Anni during their honeymoon Reuters

The trial of the British man accused of planning the murder of his wife while on honeymoon in South Africa is set to take place in October.

Shrien Dewani, 34, was extradited from the UK following a three-year legal battle, to face the accusations he hired three men to kill his wife Anni in Cape Town in 2010.

His lawyers argued he should not return to South Africa to face the charges until he has fully recovered from the mental breakdown and post-traumatic stress he suffered following his wife's murder.

Upon arriving in South Africa, he was sent to a state psychiatric hospital in Vakenberg to undergo treatment.

Appearing at Cape Town's high court, prosecutors applied for Dewani to undergo a 30-day mental health assessment to establish whether he would be fit for trial.

Defence lawyer Francois van Zyl did not oppose the application as he had "no doubt" Dewani would be fit to plead and the trial would go ahead.

The British businessman will undergo the same test that Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius is currently taking during his murder trial. If the psychiatric panel declare he is mentally fit, Dewani will begin his trial on 6 October.

If it is ruled he is unable to stand trial within 18 months, he will be returned to the UK under the terms of his extradition.

Dewani is accused of hiring three men, Xolile Mngeni, Mziwamadoda Qwabe and taxi driver Zola Tongo, to shoot his wife in the outskirts of Cape Town in November 2010 and make it look like a carjacking.

Qwabe and Mngeni were both given life sentences after pleading guilty to her murder, while Tongo was given an 18-year-jail sentence for his part in the killing.

Dewani denies the charges against him.

Oscar Pistorius