No progress in bail bid of Hillary Gardee's murder accused

There has been yet another delay in the bail application of Sipho Mkhatshwa — one of the men charged with killing Hillary Gardee. 

On Thursday, his partly heard bail application was postponed to July 22, the same date on which the main trial is set to be back in court.

State prosecutor Ntsika Mpolweni told the court that the bail application could not go ahead because Mkhatshwa’s attorneys had still not received the transcribed record of his partly heard bail application.

Last month, his attorneys dropped him in the middle of his bail application, citing a conflict of interest. He has since appointed new attorneys.

His co-accused, Philemon Lukhele and Albert Gama were present in court, intending to apply for bail. Their case was also postponed to July 22 for the setting up of a bail application date. 

Counsel for Philemon Lukhele and Mduduzi Gama, advocate Nqobizitha Mlilo, told the court that they were intending to launch a formal inquiry for the court to determine if the accused were properly brought before the court.

He maintained that with each appearance of the accused, they told the court about the torture they suffered at hands of the police. He told the court that evidence obtained through torture is inadmissible and said with the inquiry, that is one of the things that they want the court to make a finding on. He said the inquiry will have a direct effect on the bail application of his clients.

 “Are these accused people properly before you? The state cannot benefit from unclean hands,” Mlilo said.

Earlier, prosecutor Ntsika Mpolweni dropped a bombshell, saying the state was adding a charge of conspiracy to commit murder against all three of the accused.

Mpolweni told the Nelspruit magistrate's court he could not give details on who the three conspired to kill.

“For safety reasons, the state will not divulge the name of the person who was to be killed,” he said. 

The trio have been behind bars since Gardee's body was discovered outside Mbombela in May — several days after she went missing. The 28-year-old had been raped and shot. 

Magistrate Eddie Hall dismissed the application because the trial has not yet started and police investigations were still under way.

Broadcasting proceedings could have an effect later in the trial.

“This court is not going to give a verdict. The family is more interested in [the] trial where a verdict will be given,” Hall said.

The family brought an application to have proceedings broadcast live but the defence attorneys objected.

Legal representative for the Gardee family Onalenna Thaga, who has a watching brief, said some family members were overseas and wanted to be part of the proceedings.

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