Philemon Lukhele, the man who is accused of being the mastermind behind Hillary Gardee’s murder, is confident that the state has nothing to prove in its case.
Lukhele and his co-accused, Sipho Lawrence Mkatshwa, Mduduzi Gama, and Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna appeared before the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela for pre-trial on Tuesday.
The legal representative for Lukhele, Gama and Mkhatshwa had applied for a postponement allowing him time to make representations to the director of public prosecutions to withdraw the charges and for their case to be dropped.
However, Judge President Francis Legodi denied the postponement after the state argued that it was ready for trial.
Legodi ordered that the four men be present in court on Wednesday for the start of the official trial.
Lukhele and his co-accused were arrested in 2022 and charged with murder, rape, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and possession of an illegal firearm.
Speaking to the Sunday World after his appearance, Lukhele expressed disappointment that their application was turned down.
However, he maintained his innocent, stating that if it means he shows up for trial to prove that he did not orchestrate Gardee’s murder, “then so be it”.
Lukhele said he is confident that the state has nothing to prove and that the commencement of trial with them as accused is only a recipe for disaster, as there has already been a confession.
He added that the state knows that its case is not strong but is in denial, hoping for a miracle that they are found guilty. He said for this reason, he is ready for the “so-called” trial.
“We are ready because we know there is nothing for them to prove. The judge refused a postponement because he is not convinced it should be granted and because he is angry that our lawyer was not in court, that we can understand,” he said.
“But the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] in their dishonesty has failed to say, ‘despite that they [the accused] want to make representations, what we have given them ourselves suggests that they have nothing to answer to here’.
“They still want to keep a version that [they] are ready for trial.”
Lukhele said the judge’s decision to turn down their application on Tuesday is a relief for the state, which has nothing tangible to use to crack the case.
“This thing of us being denied the opportunity to make representations for them to withdraw the charges is a relief for them.
“They have been going around lying to people saying that they have got inyanga [traditional healer] and they have witnesses and confessions, now the moment has arrived to bring those people to appear in court.
“Tomorrow will be a disaster because those people do not exist. So, we are fine with what the judge said. We will continue with the trial tomorrow, we want to see those fake witnesses.”
He added: “There is nothing that we are going to trial for, and the NPA knows that. That is why they did not oppose our application.”
Lukhele exclusively revealed to Sunday World that although he is going on trial as ordered by the court, he is not ruling out the possibility of suing the state for wrongful arrest and defamation of character.
“The engines are idling,” he said.
Lukhele was released on R20 000 bail in January after spending over seven months in custody. Meanwhile, Mkatshwa and Gama are still in custody at the Barberton Prison’s maximum facility in Mpumalanga.
His release came after he was handed a docket consisting of Rassie 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 was arrested in August 2022 for killing a woman in Ekurhuleni and dumping her body on a farm.
He is also implicated in the murder of his girlfriend Pretty Nkambule and her sister.
Speaking to Sunday World in February, Lukhele said he wanted the NPA to apologise to him and to rectify its blunder after a known murderer confessed to the crime.
“The state ruined my life,” he said.
What happened to Gardee?
Gardee, the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, was kidnapped, raped, and murdered on April 29 2022 after buying groceries at Spar in Mbombela.
At the time, she was in the company of her adopted three-year-old child. The child was later found unharmed close to their home.
However, Gardee’s body was found dumped in a veld five days later with a bullet wound to the head.
Also read: Man wrongfully accused of Gardee murder wants his name cleared
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