Panayiotou state witness declared hostile‚ taken into custody

27 October 2016 - 15:39 By Kathryn Kimberley
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Shortly after Babalwa Breakfast‚ the girlfriend of the state’s Section 204 witness‚ was declared a hostile witness by the court on Thursday morning‚ police escorted her from the court room and into the holding cells.

Breakfast sobbed uncontrollably.

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A source close to the case said she had been charged with perjury. Breakfast had earlier deviated from her statement to police in which she said Luthando Siyoni had told her about Christopher Panayiotou’s alleged plans to have his wife‚ Jayde‚ killed.

She also said she had counted out money meant to pay the alleged hitmen.

But in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Wednesday and Thursday‚ Breakfast backtracked on what she told police.

Taking state advocate Marius Stander by surprise‚ Breakfast said the money was meant for renovations to Siyoni’s Zwide gym.

She denied the contents of the statement.

On request of Stander‚ Judge Dayalin Chetty declared Breakfast to be a hostile witness.

Stander said what Breakfast was now telling the court was not the truth.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg confirmed that Breakfast had been arrested and charged with perjury and defeating the ends of justice.

She is expected to appear in court on Friday.

-TMG Digital/The Herald

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