Four men accused of killing Hillary Gardee, the daughter of EFF leader Godrich, were released after state prosecutors provisionally withdrew the case at a Mpumalanga court, on Wednesday.
Hillary Gardee murder: Why were four accused killer released?
As reported by Lowvelder, the NPA had no choice but to provisionally end its pursuit of justice against Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna, Sipho Mkhatshwa, Philemon Lukhele and Albert Gama, after key witnesses failed to turn up on the first day of the trial.
Consequently, the four suspects were released from custody, albeit the court made it clear their freedom was temporary since the state was allowed time to rebuild its case and submit a bid for a new trial.
In a statement, the EFF blasted the NPA for the “shocking display of the lack of coherence and seriousness within the justice system when it relates to Gender-Based Violence.”
“The sudden disappearance of witnesses should be a cause for concern, as it raises the suspicion that they have either been intimidated or have been dealt with in a clandestine manner, which is all too frequent when it comes to whistleblowers in South Africa,” the EFF wrote.
Gardee, a 28-year-old mother, was allegedly forced into a vehicle, along with her three-year-old daughter, on her way back from the grocery store in Nelspruit, on Friday 29 April 2022.
After three days of a concerted search effort, Gardee’s body was found near a bushy area outside Mbombela, Mpumalanga with a gunshot wound to the head.
Forensic testing shows she may have been sexually assaulted. Her three-year-old daughter was abandoned by Gardee’s abductors near her home, on that fateful Friday evening.