Port Elizabeth – There was an immense amount of uncertainty and drama on Wednesday in the trial against murder accused Christopher Panayiotou and his two co-accused, as the State was seen locked behind closed doors in discussion with a key witness for hours on end and Panayiotou’s mistress showed up at court for the first time.
The courtroom was packed with both the Inggs and Panayiotou families, members of the media and public idled around the Port Elizabeth High Court building for hours, court proceedings eventually got underway after 3pm, preceding two earlier informal postponements during the day.
Prosecutor Marius Stander told the court that he would call Section 204 witness Luthando Siyoni and would proceed with a trial within a trial on Thursday.
The trial is expected to reach a pivotal point when the State’s key witness and alleged middleman Siyoni takes the stand.
Judge Dayalin Chetty warned Siyoni to be at court at 9am on Thursday.
The State alleges that Panayiotou paid a bouncer from his Infinity nightclub to recruit hitmen to kidnap and kill his school teacher wife, Jayde, in April 2015. The bouncer was arrested a week after Jayde’s killing took place.
Siyoni subsequently became a Section 204 witness and charges against him were withdrawn by the State, which means that at the end of the trial he could be granted immunity for his wrong-doing if Judge Dayalin Chetty deemed him a forthright and honest witness.
Panayiotou’s lawyers indicated from the get go they will challenge the evidence of self-confessed middleman Siyoni. Advocate Terry Price has claimed on several occasions that Siyoni was “beaten by police into making a confession”. The defence want Siyoni’s evidence thrown out.
Siyoni was seen behind closed doors in a witness room at the Port Elizabeth High Court for hours on end with the his lawyer Zolile Ngqeza, State Prosecutor Marius Stander and interpreter Jeffrey Wabanie.
According to evidence previously placed before a bail court, Siyoni supplied police with an alleged version of events which implicated Panayiotou.
Siyoni was then used in an undercover sting operation for the police to gather enough evidence to arrest Panayiotou.
Both mistress and manager at Panayiotou’s OK Grocer store, Chanelle Coutts, also made her first appearance at the Port Elizabeth High Court building on Wednesday. Coutts too was behind closed doors for hours on end consulting with her lawyer Danie Gouws. She was wearing her OK Grocer uniform and carried a Polo handbag.
The State previously claimed that Christopher was under financial pressure to keep his slain wife and his lover Coutts happy and getting a divorce from Jayde was not an option for Panayiotou because his family would disinherit him, so the State alleges the businessman had his school teacher wife killed instead.
The State further alleges that Sinethemba Nemembe assisted Sizwe Vumazonke to kidnap and murder Jayde at the behest of her husband. Vumazonke who was the alleged link between Siyoni and other hitmen has since died.
Jayde was driven to a remote area on the outskirts of Kwanobuhle, where the alleged murder took place. The state contends Vumazaonke fired two shots through Jayde’s back and a final shot through the left side of her head.
Zolani Sibeko was the last suspect to be arrested, 15 months after the murder. He was apparently placed – through cellphone mapping – outside Jayde’s complex in the days before her murder.
African News Agency