The man who allegedly recruited hitmen to kill Jayde Panayiotou and was supposed to be the prosecution’s star witness, was on Thursday instead declared hostile in the Port Elizabeth High Court.
Luthando Siyoni testified as the State’s Section 204 witness for the fifth day in the ongoing murder trial involving his former boss, Christopher Panayiotou, and his two- co accused, who are all charged with the murder of Christopher’s wife Jayde Panayiotou in April last year.
Siyoni, a bouncer at Panayiotou’s nightclub, is technically still a Section 204 witness for the State even though he was declared hostile, and it will ultimately be up to Judge Dayalin Chetty to decide on his fate at the end of the trial.
Siyoni, who directly contradicted the version contained in his initial statement to police, now runs the risk of losing possible immunity granted in exchange for his testimony, but that decision rests with Judge Chetty who will have to decide at the end of the trial whether or not Siyoni was honest and reliable.
Siyoni’s about-turn follows that of his girlfriend Babalwa Breakfast who last month was arrested and charged with perjury after she deviated from her statement to police in which she had said her boyfriend had told her about Panayiotou’s alleged plans to have his wife, Jayde, killed.
On Thursday, State Prosecutor Marius Stander asked for Siyoni to be declared hostile and continued to discredit Siyoni by asking him questions which for the second day in a row he refused to acknowledge.
Stander said: “I put it to you that your rights were fully explained prior to you making a confession in Fort Beaufort. Reasons for your arrest were explained by Captain Mayi and you were never assaulted the way in which you put before this court. I will argue your version of assault came after the arrest of Babalwa Breakfast,” said Stander.
Siyoni refused to respond.
Stander proceeded to poke holes in the bouncer’s testimony and said that Siyoni’s meeting with Panayiotou, during a police sting operation, took place because the bouncer wanted to verify his version of events to police.
“You cooperated fully with police in obtaining messages off your Facebook, police already had access but you gave them them permission to proceed,” said Stander.
The prosecution also made reference to records regarding Siyoni’s detention where magistrates would visit him on a weekly basis.
“You complained the coffee was weak, the soup was cold, you complained the food was not enough and you regularly complained that [Investigating Officer Kanna] Swanepoel was not visiting you. This man who you say threatened you, why would you complain that he was not visiting you?” asked Stander.
Stander put it to the bouncer that the records showed he never complained about being threatened by police into make a confession.
Earlier this week, Siyoni claimed he provided information to Swanepoel and signed a confession after police forced him to say “what they wanted” him to say at Uitenhage SAPS.
A subsequent statement made to police describes how Siyoni decided to co-operate with police. An excerpt reads as follows:
“The police then informed me that they wanted to ask me certain questions regarding to Jayde. The police were not ‘fishing’, as they were talking straight to the point, I was never prepared for this type of questioning as being informed by Chris and Sizwe. It was clear to me that police must have inside information from someone.There was no way I could lie because it was clear that police knew the truth already. I decided to speak the truth as I did not want to stand for something created by Christopher.”
Siyoni denied knowledge of the statements made to police and also refused to acknowledge his signatures on both documents.
“I want to put it to you, that the statement made on May 3 and the statement dated May 23 are a true reflection of events,” said Stander as he finally concluded his questioning of Siyoni.
Defence Advocate Terry Price SC told the bouncer: “I’m not going to try and bring a perjury charge against you and I’m not going to discredit you, what happened with police you are telling the truth. Will you answer my questions and help me prove that you are telling the truth?” asked Price.
Court adjourned for Siyoni to consult with his lawyer.
The State alleges that Sinethemba Nemembe assisted Sizwe Vumazonke to kidnap and murder Jayde at the behest of her husband. Vumazonke, who was the alleged link between Siyoni and other hitmen, has since died.
Jayde was driven to a remote area on the outskirts of Kwanobuhle, where the alleged murder took place. The state contends Vumazonke fired two shots through Jayde’s back and a final shot through her head.
Zolani Sibeko was the last suspect to be arrested, 15 months after the murder. He was apparently placed – through cellphone mapping – outside Jayde’s complex in the days before her murder.
The trial continues on Friday.
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