Verdict to be delivered on Panayiotou’s birthday

31 October 2017 - 17:58 By Kathryn Kimberley
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Defence Advocate Terry Price SC, left, and state advocate Marius Stander during the Panayiotou trial.
Defence Advocate Terry Price SC, left, and state advocate Marius Stander during the Panayiotou trial.
Image: Eugene Coetzee

Thursday marks Christopher Panayiotou’s 31st birthday‚ and whether or not he will be celebrating now lies in the hands of the court with Judge Dayalin Chetty due to deliver his verdict.

Closing arguments from lawyers representing Panayiotou‚ alleged hitman Sinethemba Nemembe and co-conspirator Zolani Sibeko were heard in the Port Elizabeth High Court for much of the day on Tuesday.

Both defence Advocate Terry Price SC and attorney Peter Daubermann called for their clients to be acquitted‚ but approached the evidence from entirely different angles.

While Price set out to discredit the state’s associates‚ calling for a police officer to be imprisoned and a lawyer to be reported to the Cape Law Society‚ Daubermann said there was no case for Nemembe and Sibeko to answer to.

Daubermann said there was not enough evidence to prove a conspiracy to kidnap and murder Jayde Panayiotou existed‚ in particular when it came to Sibeko‚ who was not even at the scene of the crime.

After months of gruelling testimony‚ Judge Chetty said he would hand down judgment on Thursday.

- HeraldLIVE

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