The suspect, a Nigerian national, is expected to appear in the Nelspruit magistrate’s court on Wednesday.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the, suspect believed to be in his 30s, was taken in for questioning on Sunday afternoon and was later charged with defeating the ends of justice.
This after Gardee’s cellphone and laptop were found in his possession.
“The man is set to appear in the Nelspruit magistrate’s court on Wednesday to face a charge of defeating the ends of justice. He is linked through the cellphone and the laptop of the deceased found in his possession,” Mohlala said.
His arrest comes after the arrest of the fourth suspect, Hlabirwa Nkune last week.
Nkune was nabbed after he confessed to the police that he raped and killed Gardee on their first date after flirting with her on Facebook.
Gardee, the daughter of former EFF secretary general Godrich Gardee, was raped and murdered in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, early this year after she went missing on April 29 while shopping with her adopted three-year-old daughter.
The daughter was later on that day dropped off at Umnenke Street at KwaMagugu, where they lived.
Gardee’s body was found with stab and gunshot wounds. Her body was discovered by timber plantation workers on May 3, about 60km outside Mbombela, towards Sabie.
Three other men – Sipho Mkhatshwa, Philemon Lukhele and Albert Gama – were arrested for her murder, which hogged national media headlines.
Mkhatshwa has since been denied bail, while Lukhele and Gama are expected to apply for bail in September.
At the time, police said they believed that Gardee was kept captive at Lukhele’s guesthouse, Insika Lodge, where she was allegedly raped and murdered.
The lodge, which has been used as student accommodation by the University of Mpumalanga, has since been petrol bombed by angry residents who took the law into their own hands.
The university has since terminated its contract with Lukhele.
In a statement which we have seen last week, the police said Nkune , who was arrested in an operation conducted around Sundra, Springs, and Kwa-Thema in Ekurhuleni on Thursday, met Gardee on Facebook and started “flirting” with her.
“During his interview, the suspect confessed to having been involved in the murder of Hillary Gardee, who was killed in the bush around Lydenburg road, and afterwards the suspect proceeded to Sabie where he withdrew cash from the deceased’s bank account.
He took the child of the deceased to KwaMagugu location, where he left the child on the street.
“The suspect alleges that he met with Hillary Gardee on Facebook, and they started to flirt with each other. This led them to meeting in Nelspruit CBD for a date. On the same day of the date, Hillary Gardee was raped and killed by the suspect,” reads the statement.
Nkune who was remanded into custody when he appeared in the Nulspruit Court on Monday, also told the police that after raping and murdering her, he took her laptop and cellphone and sold it to a Nigerian known as Biggy around Nelspruit.
“The suspect alleges the firearm that was used to kill Gardee was one of two 9mm PX pistols robbed from traffic officers on the Hazyview road.”
The police said Nkune was tracked and located through the assistance of the informer in KwaThema location while he was driving in a white VW Polo.
After nabbing him, police recovered a Vector pistol with 15 live rounds, which were found in his possession.
They said ballistic tests would be conducted to determine if the firearm was linked to other crimes.
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