Cellphone evidence could link at least one of Hillary Gardee's killers to her

Prosecutor tears into accused's evidence and says state has damning evidence placing him near the young mother at the time she disappeared

02 June 2022 - 19:00
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Sipho Mkhatshwa says he was nowhere near Hillary Gardee when she was kidnapped and murdered. He is applying in the Mbombela Magistrate's Court to be released on bail.
Sipho Mkhatshwa says he was nowhere near Hillary Gardee when she was kidnapped and murdered. He is applying in the Mbombela Magistrate's Court to be released on bail.
Image: Graeme Hosken/TimesLIVE

In a dramatic turn of events in the Hillary Gardee murder trial, the state says it has cellphone evidence potentially linking at least one of her three alleged killers to her disappearance and death.

State prosecutor Ntsika Mpolweni on Thursday spent hours grilling murder accused Sipho Mkhatshwa.

Mkhatshwa, an elder at a Roman Catholic Church in Mpumalanga and a member of two school governing bodies, is applying for bail in the Mbombela magistrate’s court.

Mkhatshwa and his two co-accused, Philemon Lukhele and Albert Gama, were arrested last month for Gardee’s kidnapping, rape and murder.

They face additional charges of conspiracy to commit murder and the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. They are alleged to have planned her murder between January and April.

Gardee’s body was found dumped on a gravel road next to a pine plantation 40km outside Mbombela on May 3, five days after she was kidnapped.  She disappeared as she was travelling  home after shopping with her adopted three-year-old daughter.

On Thursday, Mkhatshwa, the father of two boys and stepfather to three girls, continued with his bail application which he launched last week Tuesday.

Through an affidavit and testifying from the dock, Mkhatshwa said he could provide “solid and unquestionable evidence”, including receipts and a minibus taxi passenger book, which would prove he was not involved in the crime or was even near the murder scene at the time of “this gruesome crime against humanity”.

I never knew her or her family. I had no dealings, business or otherwise, with her or her family. I have never met them. I was never in Mbombela the day she disappeared or at the time she was murdered
Sipho Mkhatshwa, murder accused 

He used his affidavit, which was read out by his lawyer, Sifiso Silindza, to map out his whereabouts from the time Gardee was kidnapped until the day of his arrest.

Mkhatshwa said between the day Gardee disappeared and the day her body was found, he had been attending church, comforting a bereaved family, buying two car batteries, fitting clothes for his upcoming wedding with his children and bride-to-be, preparing his yard with his gardener for the wedding ceremony, shopping for cooldrinks and food, and arranging with a vet a permit for the slaughter of a cow for the lebola ceremony.

“At the time the deceased disappeared, 5.30pm on 29 April, I was with my gardener.

“On the day that she was reportedly killed I was leading a church service, offering comfort to bereaved friends, fitting our wedding clothes, collecting my fiancée from a hair salon.

“On the day the state alleges I was involved in the murder I was in church and then went to a Portuguese festival with my children until 7pm,” Mkhatshwa said in his affidavit.

Taking to the stand, Mkhatshwa, who reiterated the claims made in his affidavit, said he had exceptional circumstances for being granted bail which included that the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions of prison were not good for his chronic respiratory illness.

“With the pandemic still around I am extremely vulnerable.”

He claimed he was innocent of all charges and that he had had no motive to kill Gardee.

“I never knew her or her family. I had no dealings, business or otherwise, with her or her family. I have never met them. I was never in Mbombela the day she disappeared or at the time she was murdered. 

“I never crossed the Nkomazi toll gate [on the N4 east of Mbombela]. I was around my home and in Malelane [east of Mbombela] the whole time the crime was committed.

“For some unknown reason the police believe that I am involved but I am not. The police link me to this crime through a confession statement which I made through torture. It was so severe I thought I was going to die. I would say anything to get it to stop.”

After Mkhatshwa had testified for nearly three hours, Mpolweni asked Mkhatshwa to confirm his cellphone number and again asked whether he had been in Mbombela the day Gardee disappeared. Mpolweni told Mkhatshwa that evidence the investigating officer had gathered, would show he had been in Mbombela the day Gardee disappeared. .

For some unknown reasons the police believe that I am involved but I am not. The police link me to this crime through a confession statement which I made through torture. It was so severe I thought I was going to die. I would say anything to get it to stop
Sipho Mkhatshwa, murder accused 

“The evidence is very interesting. It will indicate that your cellphone was with the deceased’s cellphone in the afternoon of 29 April, which is the day she disappeared, at the very time and on the very day that you said you were at home.”

Mkhatshwa replied that he would only believe the evidence when he saw it.

“That is untrue. It is news to me.”

Mpolweni said that Mkhatshwa’s denials that he was in Mbombela at the time of the kidnapping was just one of many lies that littered his affidavit.

“One of the others is when you told the court how you heard of Hillary’s disappearance. You were very precise. It was at 5:30pm on 29 April while you were in the yard with your gardener.

“But, when I repeatedly question you about the accuracy of when you heard about it [the disappearance] you say in all likelihood it was the morning of 30 April.

“You seem to have excellent recollection when you want to. The problem with your recollection is that no-one except Hillary’s family knew about her disappearance on the morning of 30 April.

“The police only became aware and circulating reports at 12pm when her family reported her missing. We have that in black and white in the police missing person report. Again another inconsistency in your affidavit,” said Mpolweni. 

Mkhatshwa, becoming agitated, told Mpolweni he was intimidating him and confusing him.

“I never paid attention to the exact time. I thought it was then. I heard about it on the news on 404 and 405 [DStv news channels]. I wasn’t really paying attention. It could have been in the evening.”

Proceedings continue on Friday.

TimesLIVE 

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