Port Elizabeth -The trial against murder accused Christopher Panayiotou is nearing the end.
The businessman is charged alongside Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko who are charged with conspiring to kidnap, rob and murder school teacher Jayde Panayiotou on April 21, 2015.
The mammoth murder trial kicked off over year ago in October last year.
On Tuesday, the defence's last witness was called, Deputy Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in Port Elizabeth, Advocate Indra Goberdan.
Goberdan told the court that a Section 252 A authorisation for the police undercover sting operation was not needed.
Christopher Panayiotou, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko are on trial for conspiracy to kidnap, rob and murder Jayde Panayiotou on April 21, 2015. PHOTO: Raahil Sain/ANA
She said that she did not give authorisation for the operation because it was not within her mandate.
Goberdan said the only person who gave authorisations for stings, was DPP Advocate Malherbe Marais.
She said she received a call from Marais who enquired if she had given permission for the sting.
Subsequent to that call, Goberdan said she had made a call to her colleague in Grahamstown, Advocate Selwyn Gounden, to ascertain on the admissibility of the video at court.
She said the conversation only took place after the sting had been carried out and Panayiotou had already made his first appearance as an accused in court.
In the then secret video Panayiotou chats to middleman Luthando Siyoni. The businessman seemingly implicates himself in his wife's murder.
State Prosecutor, Marius Stander, proceeded to cross-examine his own boss.
Murdered Port Elizabeth teacher Jayde Panayiotou on her wedding day. Picture: Facebook
Stander said that Marais had given specific guidelines to Gounden on how the operation should take place.
According to the State those guidelines where then relayed to the police.
But according to Goberdan, she had only discussed the sting with both Gounden and Marais after the operation had already taken place.
Stander said that Marais would deny that the conversation had taken place after the sting.
Goberdan stated: "It did take place."
Attorney, Peter Daubermann, representing Nenembe and Sibeko indicated that he had no witnesses to call and closed his case.
Stander brought an application to re-open the State's case - to rebut the evidence of Gounden and Goberdan.
The prosecution intended to call Advocate Zelda Swanepoel and Marais, however Judge Dayalin Chetty dismissed the State's application.
The case was postponed until next week Thursday for argument.