Port Elizabeth – The State has shot down every argument brought by the defence team for murder accused Christopher Panayiotou, in his attempt to be granted bail on an argument that there were new facts.
Panayiotou is accused of orchestrating the murder of his wife‚ Jayde, in April last year. It is alleged he paid a bouncer at his Infinity night club‚ Luthando Siyoni, to hire hitman Sizwezakhe Vumazonke to kidnap and murder Jayde.
The state alleges that Sinethemba Nenembe assisted the alleged hitman Vumazonke to kidnap and kill Jayde at the behest of her husband.
During court proceedings on Thursday, State Prosecutor Marius Stander, read out an affidavit by the investigating officer Lieutenant Kanna Swanepoel.
Swanepoel’s affidavit took aim at the defence’s claim that a confession was beaten out of Luthando Siyoni and was obtained “unconstitutionally”. He said that at no stage was Siyoni assaulted.
Swanepoel said that at the time police arrested Siyoni at the Infinity Cocktail Lounge, his rights were explained to him. He said Siyoni was a proud man and the only time a scuffle ensued was when Siyoni was handcuffed.
“Siyoni agreed to co-operate with the police and to make a confession. At some stage during the detention of Siyoni he sustained a minor injury to his left eye. At no stage was he assaulted or tortured.”
“From the outset Siyoni did not want a legal representative. Siyoni indicated that he was not going to jail for [Christopher’s] decisions and wanted to turn state witness. It was explained to Siyoni that we would need support for his version and Siyoni indicated that he will phone [Christopher],” said Swanepoel.
Swanepoel went on to explain that during April last year, Siyoni was given a phone to contact Panayiotou.
The message Siyoni sent read was as follows: “Boss if am arrested they will make me talk and they will be after you.”
Swanepoel’s affidavit stressed that Siyoni did not want legal representation.
“I knew that the taking down of an affidavit from Siyoni before a final decision was taken regarding his status is problematic. I also know that in the High Court, Section 204 witnesses are assisted by legal representation. I convinced Siyoni to obtain the services of a lawyer. He indicated that he couldn’t afford one. I needed to have a legal representative on board for Siyoni before I wanted to take down his affidavit,” said Swanepoel.
He said that with regards to the admissibility of evidence and whether Siyoni sustained a visible injury at all, was something to be canvassed at a trial court and not a bail court.
Swanepoel claimed that Panayiotou was merely adapting a version in attempt to raise new facts.
He also addressed the “humiliation” that Panayiotou was going through at the hands of social media.
“Being in custody it is with concern that I note he knows what is happening on social media. This can never be a new fact. Whether [Panayiotou] is in custody or not won’t affect the comments on social media.”
“Subsequent to the court adjourning I perused the paper and it stated that the applicant will be making his third attempt at getting bail. I assume it refers to two bail applications and a bail appeal. It appears that this paragraph was included solely in an attempt to settle a personal score with the media and has absolutely nothing to do with placing new facts before this court,” said Swanepoel.
The affidavit also went into detail surrounding the events that led up to the murder of Jayde, at which point her mother Michelle burst into tears.
Swanepoel also scrutinised the defence’s claim that there was no evidence supporting that Jayde was hit over the head or placed in the boot of a car.
“The deceased had a laceration to two of her fingers on the right hand that would fit in with her hand being crushed in the lock mechanism of the boot. Upon examination of the boot of the vehicle the boot was sprayed with Bluestar, an agent that reacts to human blood. The Bluestar reacted positive,” said Swanepoel.
He also rubbished the defence’s claim that there was no evidence placing the alleged hitman outside the Stellen Glen complex.
“I don’t know if the applicant is here trying to place new facts before court or whether he is indeed requesting further particulars. Vumazonke hired the vehicle in his name. During the evenings the vehicle stayed at his residential address. The cellular phone of Vumazonke and the motor vehicle travel together at all times.”
“The motor vehicle sends a GPS signal every 10 to 12 seconds that gives a definite GPS location where the vehicle was. The tracker doesn’t place the vehicle in the vicinity of the complex. The tracker indicates at 10 to 12 second intervals exactly where the vehicle is. The vehicle circled the complex approximately seven times before the deceased was abducted….the state alleges that the vehicle was travelling at 20km/hour and 12 seconds later at 8km/hour. During that period the vehicle stopped and the deceased was kidnapped,” said Swanepoel.
Defence Advocate Terry Price earlier said that Panayiotou was not happy with the conditions under which consultations took place with his lawyers at the Port Elizabeth High Court.
Swanepoel said that if Panayiotou was unhappy with the facilities he needed to take that up with the Registrar of the high court.
Magistrate Abigail Beeton postponed the matter until Friday for the continuation of the bail hearing.
African News Agency