Ex-employee ducks questions by Panayiotou defence

Picture: Raahil Sain

Picture: Raahil Sain

Published Oct 21, 2016

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Port Elizabeth - The testimony of a former employee of murder accused Christopher Panyaiotou came under attack again in the Port Elizabeth High Court again on Friday when the defence accused him of contradicting himself and persisting to “duck” questions under cross-examination.

Mawonga Ndedwa testified on the eighth day of the murder trial of Panayiotou and his two co-accused, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko. The men are accused of kidnapping and killing Panayiotou's wife Jayde in April 2015.

Ndedwa alleges that Panayiotou used his personal cellphone to call the alleged middleman Luthando Siyoni. Ndedwa also told the court that he had stumbled across a bag containing R30 000 in cash in a storeroom at the OK Grocer. He testified Panayiotou had told him it was for Siyoni, a bouncer at the businessman's nightclub, who allegedly found the hitman who killed Jayde.

It was Ndedwa's evidence in chief this week that he discovered the money a week before Jayde went missing but Advocate Terry Price questioned him as to why in his statement to police he said “a month before”.

“Can you explain why there is such a massive difference between your statement from one week to one month?” Price asked. “I spoke about a month because this happened this week and the following week Jayde went missing,” Ndedwa told the court.

“You are ducking the question again. You told this court a week, that would take it to the 14th of April, in your statement you say a month, that takes it to 21st March,” said Price. Ndedwa replied that when he had made a statement to police he did indicate that for “a period of two weeks Christopher was making use of [his] phone”. At this point Judge Dayalin Chetty told Ndedwa he was not answering the question.

Panayiotou, Nenembe, and Sibeko are facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder. Panayiotou is also facing an additional charge of defeating or obstructing the course of justice. They have all pleaded not guilty.

The trial continues on Monday.

African News Agency

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