Christopher Panayiotou and co-accused, Sinethembe Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko are expected to appear in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Friday for the murder of the businessman’s schoolteacher wife, Jayde Panayiotou.
On Thursday, the court declared as “hostile” the man, who allegedly recruited hitmen to kill the life skills teacher in April last year, and was supposed to be the prosecution’s star witness.
Luthando Siyoni testified as a Section 204 witness for the fifth day in the ongoing murder trial involving his former boss, Christopher Panayiotou.
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.
The judge will 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 killed.
On Thursday, State Prosecutor Marius Stander asked for Siyoni to be declared “hostile”. For the second day in a row Siyoni refused to answer questions.
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.
The kidnapped schoolteacher 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. Alleged triggerman Vumazonke died in custody.
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