Murder charges against a Pretoria man, accused of masterminding his estranged wife’s murder was withdrawn in the Pretoria High Court on Monday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
“The NPA have withdrawn charges against Nico Henning because we are not in a position to proceed with the matter, therefore it was withdrawn,” NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said.
“It is important to remember that withdrawal is not an acquittal and if the hindrances that stopped the trial from continuing are cleared then there is a possibility that the NPA will proceed with the matter. But we cannot talk about the merit of the case.”
The trial against Henning was expected to get underway on Monday. He faced charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
He was arrested in 2014 in connection with the November 2011 murder of his wife Chanelle Henning. Twenty-five-year-old Chanelle was gunned down shortly after dropping her son off at a creche in Faerie Glen, Pretoria.
At the time, the couple had started divorce proceedings and were fighting over custody of their son.
The middle men, Henning’s former friend Andre Gouws and former Nigerian Olympic athlete Ambrose Monye, are already serving life sentences.
Gouws alleged that Henning offered him R1 million to have Chanelle killed, and he in turn offered Monye R50,000 to organise the hit.
Gerhardus du Plessis and Willem Pieterse, both former policemen, pleaded guilty to carrying out the murder and were sentenced to 18 years behind bars.
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