The bail application of two men arrested in connection with the murder of Hillary Gardee has taken a twist. Their legal representative says he wants to subpoena Mpumalanga police commissioner Lt-Gen Semakaleng Manamela and provincial police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala.
Adv Nqobizitha Mlilo, representing Philemon Lukhele and Albert Gama, on Thursday told the Mbombela magistrate’s court he would like to subpoena the two to testify about statements they made in the media regarding the arrest of a fourth suspect.
Manamela confirmed during media interviews in mid-August the suspect had confessed to killing Gardee.
Mlilo said he would like police to confirm to the court the confession exists as it may exonerate his clients.
“It is in the words of police who say the suspect confessed to the murder. If that is the case, we should then be talking about the withdrawal of charges and not a bail application,” he told the court.
Prosecutor Ntsika Mpolweni said the state has no knowledge of a fourth suspect arrested in connection with the case, nor does it have knowledge of the alleged statement by him and would not be able to provide the defence with the information they are asking for.
“It will be difficult for the state to provide something it is not in possession of. No-one has been charged yet,” Mpolweni said.
The prosecutor cautioned the defence that if the statement does exist but doesn’t mention the names of Mlilo’s clients, they are not entitled to it.
“At this point, we are just speculating because we don’t know the contents of the statement,” Mpolweni said.
The court postponed this aspect of the case to September 2 to allow the defence time to prepare.
Mohlala said police were unable to respond to questions about the subpoena until they received it.
On Monday, the man believed to be the fourth suspect, Hlabirwa Rassie Nkune, 36, briefly appeared at the Delmas magistrate’s court on charges of murder, robbery and possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.
The case is in connection with the murder of 27-year-old Nonkululeko Nkosi from Midrand, whom he allegedly met for a date after meeting her on Facebook.
Nkosi’s mother, Selina Morale, told TimesLIVE Premium she is not ready to talk about the incident as she's still in mourning and busy with her daughter's funeral arrangements.
According to the charge sheet, Nkuna met Nkosi in Benoni on August 6. He allegedly took her to Sundra, near Delmas, against her will. She was immobilised with a taser and strangled. He allegedly drove off with her Mercedes.
During his appearance, Nkuna asked the court that he be kept in a prison outside Mpumalanga, as he believed his life would be in danger if kept there.
“My client says he does not feel safe and would prefer to not be kept at a prison in Mpumalanga because of the sensitive information he shared with police,” his legal aid attorney Jabulani Maphethe told the court.
TimesLIVE Premium understands Nkuna allegedly implicated the other three accused in his confession.
On Tuesday, Nkuna also appeared at the Kanyamazane magistrate’s court in connection with the murder of the two Mazibuko sisters. One of the sisters, Pretty, 46, was his girlfriend, and the other, Marcia, 41, was a cop. Nkuna allegedly shot dead the two sisters on May 15, just a few weeks after Gardee’s murder.
Police last week also arrested a Nigerian national, who they say is linked to the case, but the NPA didn’t add the case to the court roll, as they said there was insufficient evidence.
Mohlala said the NPA has instructed police to obtain further evidence.
“We need to get an expert statement. The man is not completely off the hook. Once we get the expert statement, we will go and arrest him as we believe he has knowledge about this case,” he said.
A police officer working closely on the case told TimesLIVE Premium that during his arrest, Nkuna told police he had given Gardee’s cellphone and laptop to that suspect. Mohlala said they didn’t find any of the gadgets in the man’s possession but said they had established the suspect had allegedly used Gardee’s cellphone shortly after she was reported missing.
On Tuesday, Gama took the stand in a bid to convince the court to grant him bail. He told the court he was tortured by police during his arrest in May.
“When we arrived at the police station, they put me in a room, and one of the three police officers who were not in uniform put plastic on my head and started suffocating me. They also put something on my feet that made them shiver.”
Gama told the court he was also pushed down the stairs and he fell, leaving him with a cut under his left eye bleeding excessively.
The bail hearing was adjourned to Thursday, and that is when the defence dropped a bombshell about the need to subpoena the provincial police’s top brass.
The other accused, Lukhele, has not taken the stand yet.
Their co-accused, Sipho Mkhatshwa, was denied bail on August 3. The three men are expected back in court on Monday. The state is expected to serve the defence with an indictment and the case will be transferred to the high court.
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