Bouncer claims life threatened

THE man who allegedly sourced a hitman to kidnap and kill schoolteacher Jayde Panayiotou, received deaths threats while in police custody, the Port Elizabeth High Court heard yesterday.

Investigating officer Captain Kanna Swanepoel was under cross-examination in the trial of Christopher Panayiotou, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko, who are charged with conspiring to kidnap and kill Panayiotou’s schoolteacher wife in April 2015.

Panayiotou’s bouncer, Luthando Siyoni, told him that his life was being threatened.

“Siyoni got information from his family that people were visiting his home asking about his whereabouts,” said Swanepoel.

Swanepoel initially told the court that these were “just people” who had visited Siyoni’s house. “Siyoni spoke about a hitman but there was no evidence.”

Swanepoel said he never approached the Panayiotou family about the alleged threats.

Defence advocate Terry Price referred to Swanepoel’s statement: “On numerous occasions people related to Panayiotou and Sizwe went to his house.”

Swanepoel then told the court that the people who visited Siyoni may have worked for the Panayiotou family.

Price said that Swanepoel did not read Siyoni his rights.

Swanepoel said: “I recorded this four times already, so I didn’t think it was necessary.”

According to Price, police did not charge Siyoni because they did not have anything on Panayiotou. But according to Swanepoel, the calls between Siyoni and the businessman prior to the sting operation, were “Siyoni’s idea”.

“He didn’t want to take the fall for someone else’s doing.”

The atmosphere became heated when Swanepoel insinuated that Price had paid for Siyoni’s girlfriend, Babalwa Breakfast, to have eye tests and contact lenses.

Price has on numerous occasions criticised the State for not taking this into consideration when she made statements to police. Breakfast and Siyoni have backtracked on statements earlier made to the police and were subsequently declared hostile witnesses. – ANA