Pretoria - Will her estranged husband testify, and will new evidence emerge in the murder trial of young Pretoria mother Chanelle Henning?
The trial which has attracted plenty of attention starts in the Pretoria High Court on Monday and the State intends on calling more than 40 witnesses.
But although Henning’s husband Nico remains a “person of interest”, police are tight-lipped as to whether he will testify or not.
It is also unclear if any new evidence has been found following two raids on his business and home near Hartbeespoort Dam earlier this year.
Hawks spokesman Captain Paul Ramaloko said he preferred not to say too much as it was information which would be divulged in court.
For the first time, former Nigerian Olympic athlete Ambrose Monye and his co-accused Andre Gouws will stand side by side before acting Judge Johan Kruger in the high court, after they were indicted and denied bail by a regional court magistrate earlier this year.
They face five charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to produce a firearm and ammunition. Monye and Gouws are the last of five men implicated in the murder of Henning, to stand trial.
They were arrested along with former police officer Gerhardus du Plessis, Willem Pieterse and Preshan Singh in November last year, shortly after Henning’s murder.
She was killed in a drive-by shooting in Faerie Glen moments after dropping her young son off at his pre-school.
In December, details of the plan to kill Henning emerged in the Pretoria Regional Court as Du Plessis and Pieterse confessed to the murder as part of a plea bargain agreement with the State. They will both take the stand this week to testify against Monye and Gouws.
Du Plessis and Pieterse, who were responsible for carrying out the hit, pleaded guilty to murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
They were each sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for the murder, five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and three years for the unlawful possession of ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently. For Du Plessis and Pieterse, the motive behind the killing of the young mother and teaching assistant in Faerie Glen was established to be financial gain, but the reason for the killing being ordered has not been revealed, nor the identity of the mastermind.
It is alleged that Monye “recruited” Pieterse to have a “person taken out” and introduced Pieterse and Du Plessis to Gouws. Pieterse then obtained a .38 special revolver from Singh who was not aware what the weapon would be used for.
In July Singh pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. On the first count, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment, suspended for five years on condition he was not convicted of a similar offence in that period.
On the second charge, Singh was sentenced to three years correctional supervision as well as 16 hours of community service a month and attendance at a communication development programme.
Pretoria News