Murder ‘middleman’ can be prosecuted
Judge criticises section 204 witness, lawyer in Panayiotou trial
SELF-CONFESSED middleman Luthando Siyoni, who allegedly arranged a hitman to kidnap and kill Jayde Panayiotou, is not indemnified from prosecution, the Port Elizabeth High Court has ruled. It is understood that a warrant of arrest for Siyoni will be issued soon.
Judge Dayalin Chetty ruled that Siyoni, who was a section 204 witness, was not indemnified from prosecution and criticised his lawyer Zolile Ngeza for acting in a duplicitous manner.
At the trial-within-a-trial, Siyoni had recanted his statements to police and refused to answer any of state advocate Marius Stander’s questions.
Ngeza had told Siyoni not to answer any questions that could incriminate him, even though a section 204 witness is expected to be truthful about the events in question. Siyoni, with his girlfriend Babalwa Breakfast, were declared hostile witnesses.
Judge Chetty said Siyoni was incapable of making any meaningful contribution, adding that his evidence was a “cocktail of lies, perjury and contrivances”, designed to advance co-accused Christopher Panayiotou’s defence.
Meanwhile, the State called for the minimum sentence of life imprisonment for Panayiotou and Sibethema Nenembe.
Panayiotou was convicted of his wife Jayde’s murder, while Nenembe was convicted for murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The State asked that Zolani Sibeko, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, be jailed for 18 years.
Stander said Jayde’s murder was a calculated and well-planned contract killing.
The way in which it was meant to look like a robbery was extremely aggravating, he added.
“Jayde had no possibility to defend herself. I go cold when I think about what could have gone through Jayde’s mind when she was kidnapped. This was a cold-blooded callous execution.”
Stander said that the claim by Panayiotou’s family, that he was a kind person, was obscured. – ANA