Pretoria - Another twist in the trial of Chanell Henning's killers on Thursday delayed sentencing to February in the High Court in Pretoria.
Matthew Klein, for former Nigerian Olympic athlete Ambrose Monye, convicted of murdering the Pretoria mother, indicated Monye wanted to make a confession.
“His confession will come but I can't put him in the dock now,” Klein said, asking for a postponement.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said the postponement would be an inconvenience, but hearing Monye's versions was in the interests of justice. Judge Johan Kruger postponed the matter to February 3.
Earlier, Monye's co-accused Andre Gouws broke down as he alleged Henning's husband Nico offered him R1 million to arrange the hit on his wife.
“Nico Henning, her husband, approached me to commission me to have her killed, and I took steps to fulfil his wishes,” Gouws tearfully read from his affidavit, in Afrikaans.
“Her death is directly due to the request or commission of Nico Henning.”
Gouws told the court how his best friend and friend of 24 years allegedly wanted his wife killed so he could get custody of their child.
He said he would testify against his friend and decided to tell the truth because it was the right thing to do.
The court was hearing sentencing proceedings after finding Gouws and Monye guilty of the contract murder of Henning. Henning, 26, was shot dead in Faerie Glen in November 2011, shortly after dropping off her child at a creche.
Gouws and Monye pleaded not guilty to five charges relating to a conspiracy to commit the murder.
The State argued that Monye and Gouws conspired with former policeman Gerhardus “Doepie” du Plessis and Willem “Pike” Pieterse. Du Plessis and Pieterse are serving 18-year prison terms after confessing to their roles in the murder.
On Thursday, 49-year-old Gouws told the court he paid Monye R50 000 to get Pieterse and Du Plessis to shoot Henning because he did not want to kill her himself.
The court heard that Nico Henning allegedly gave Gouws the idea to use a motorbike to shoot his wife and that he pointed out the creche, school, and her house to Gouws.
Earlier, the court heard that Gouws decided to do what was right after looking at his daily Bible study book “What would Jesus do?” In his testimony during the trial, Gouws admitted that Chanelle's husband asked him to watch her to see if she used drugs.
The couple was divorcing and fighting over custody of their child.
On Thursday, Gouws alleged Henning asked him plant drugs on his wife and get her arrested.
Sapa