Jayde: blow for suspects

The case of two men charged with conspiring to kill school teacher Jayde Panayiotou, pictured, were dealt a blow after the High Court in Port Elizabeth dismissed an application brought for their acquittal yesterday.

Attorney Peter Daubermann had earlier brought an application in terms of section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act and claimed that there was not enough direct evidence to convict Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko.

Daubermann claimed that the case against Nenembe and Sibeko was based solely on circumstantial evidence and, without the cellphone records, the prosecution really had no case at all, adding that his clients never admitted ownership of the cellphone. The cellphone data allegedly plots them at different locations in the run-up to Jayde’s murder.

State Prosecutor Marius Stander, who opposed the application, argued that “it’s not necessary to prove direct evidence, it can also be proved by inferential reasoning”.

Referring to case law, Stander said that both Nenembe and Sibeko had “knowledge” to explain [to the court], and he further questioned why the two men chose to remain silent.

“There is absolutely no explanation given by accused 2 and 3.

“I ask the court to sit back and look at the totality of evidence, look at the patterns of evidence placed before court in the absence of any form of explanation,” said Stander. He argued that he had proved that the cellphone numbers belonged to Sibeko and Nenembe and the SIM cards showed a pattern of communication between the alleged conspirators.

He said that he had proved that the cellphones of both men were linked to the cellphone of the alleged hitman, Sizwe Vumazonke, who has since died.

Stander said Nenembe’s number was placed at where the deceased had been kidnapped, in the vehicle, and where money was withdrawn from the deceased’s account. The case was postponed to September 26. – ANA