Charges against four men suspected of raping and killing Hillary Gardee were on Wednesday provisionally withdrawn by the high court in Mpumalanga.
This after the state told the high court judge that it has been unable to locate three key witnesses lined up to testify during trial.
Philemon Lukhele, Sipho Mkhatshwa, Mduduzi Gama and Rassie Nkuna were arrested and charged with the murder of Hillary, former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee’s daughter.
She was kidnapped, raped, and murdered on April 29 2022 after buying groceries at Spar in Mbombela.
At the time of her disappearance, she was in the company of her adopted three-year-old daughter. The child was later found unharmed close to their home.
However, Gardee’s body was found dumped in the veld five days later. She had sustained a bullet wound to the head.
Lukhele had been out on R20 000 bail since January after spending more than seven months in custody. This while Mkatshwa and Gama continued to languish in jail at the Barberton Prison’s maximum facility in Mpumalanga.
Lukhele’s release came after he was handed a docket consisting of Nkuna’s statement in which he confessed that he single-handedly killed Gardee.
Nkuna is not new to killing, according to media reports. He is a convict out on parole.
He is also implicated in the murder of his girlfriend Pretty Nkambule and her sister.
Also, read: https://sundayworld.co.za/news/gardee-murder-suspect-maintains-innocence-ahead-of-trial/
