Gardee murder: Accused appear in court, including top ANC official
The case has been postponed until June 9 for further investigation.
The three men accused of the brutal murder of Hillary Gardee (28) appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court this morning, May 9.
Philemon Lukhele (47), the communications manager of the Office of the ANC Chief Whip of the Mpumalanga legislature, appeared with his two co-accused, Sipho Lawrence Mkhatshwa (39), and Albert “Khabzela” Gama (52), on Monday morning. They abandoned their bail applications and have been remanded in custody until their next expected court appearance on June 9.
Gardee had been out shopping with her three-year-old adopted daughter in the Nelspruit CBD on Friday April 29 when it is believed she was abducted.
She had last been seen at 17:40 at The Plaza. Her daughter was found at 20:30 wandering the streets of KaMagugu crying out “Mommy is fighting”.
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Gardee’s body was found with a bullet wound to the head in a bush along a dirt road off the Sabie/Lydenburg Road on Tuesday morning, May 3.
Mpumalanga police launched a 72-hour action plan to make arrests and on Friday morning, May 6, the police made their first arrest.
It is believed that Mkhatshwa was the first to be apprehended and was found hiding by the police in Schoemansdal in Nkomazi.
A further two arrests were made on Saturday May 7 and Sunday May 8 in the Mbombela area. During this morning’s court proceedings, the three accused stood in the dock with their heads hanging low.
They are facing six counts of kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder, murder, rape, possession of an unlicensed firearm and defeating the ends of justice. The court heard that the police are still awaiting DNA evidence, ballistic reports as well as the post-mortem.
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A section 25 has also been applied for the accused’s cellphones for analysis. There is also video footage of Gardee in the Nelspruit CBD that will be looked at.
Meanwhile, the Office of the ANC Chief Whip in Mpumalanga released a statement condemning the actions of Lukhele and the two co-accused.
Chief Whip Fidel Mlombo said in the statement that he noted with serious concern the arrest of an employee in his office who turned out to be a suspect in Gardee’s gruesome killing.
“This office stands for the protection of women, young girls and boys. It condemns in the strongest terms any acts of violence perpetrated against the vulnerable.
“The senseless killing of Hillary, the young lady with such a bright future ahead of her, has once again shown the level of cruelty perpetuated against women.
“We want to take this opportunity to appreciate the unity and ability shown by the people of Mpumalanga and South Africa to put aside all their political differences and confront this pandemic of GBVF.
“The passing of Hillary is a tremendous loss not only to the Gardee family, but to society at large. This should not have happened, and no family should be exposed to such cruelty.
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“We further commend the work of the police in arresting the alleged perpetrators and we call on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in order to get to the bottom of this case and ensure that the killers are brought to book and face the full might of the law,” Mlombo said.
He said the allegations against Lukhele are of a serious nature and that the Office of the Chief Whip has started its own internal processes, in accordance with the labour laws of the country, and said regular updates will be provided.
