Sipho Mkhatshwa, one of the men charged with the brutal murder of Hillary Gardee, daughter of EFF former secretary-general Godrich, has reversed his decision to abandon his right to apply for bail.
Hillary Gardee murder suspect to apply for bail
Sipho Lawrence Mkhatshwa and his co-accused Philemon Lukhele and Mduzuzi Gama have been in police custody since their arrest in early May. Initially, the trio had collectively abandoned bail, citing fears of safety. However, according to the EFF, Mkhatshwa has reconsidered this stance.
“The EFF leadership will accompany the Gardee family to the court appearance of one of the suspects in the Hillary Gardee murder case. Sipho Mkhatshwa has applied for bail after previously abandoning bail application and is appearing in court on Thursday,” the party noted in a statement.
The Gardee family, accompanied by the EFF, will be in attendance to support the State in its bid to oppose Mkhatshwa’s bail application at the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court, on Thursday, 2 June 2022.
The other suspect in the Gardee murder case, Lukhele, was recently moved to a maximum-security prison after he was found in possession of a cellphone.
In a statement, Department of Correctional Services spokesperson, Singabakho Nxumalo confirmed the former ANC member has since been charged with smuggling ‘contraband’ into a corrections facility. The EFF, on the other hand, have called for an intensive investigation into the contacts Lukhele was communicating with from prison.
“All those found to have made calls to and received calls from this contraband phone, as well as those who received and sent WhatsApp and SMS texts, including the legal team of the accused, should answer to these nefarious activities which constitute defeating the ends of justice,” the party demanded.
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.