One of Hillary Gardee’s alleged killers denied bail

One of the men accused of killing Hillary Gardee has been denied bail by the Nelspruit Magistrates’ Court.

Albert Gama was denied bail on Friday after the court found that he failed to prove that there were exceptional circumstances, which permitted his release on bail.

Hillary Gardee murder case

Gama and his three co-accused – Sipho Mkhatshwa, Philemon Lukhele and Rasie Nkune – face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, possession of an unlicenced firearm, possession of ammunition and defeating the ends in connection with Gardee’s murder earlier this year.

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Mkhatshwa was denied bail by the same magistrate’s court in August, while Lukhele and Nkune abandoned their bail applications.

Gardee, the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, was found on 3 May near a timber plantation outside Mbombela, after she went missing at the Nelspruit Plaza on 29 April.

The 28-year-old was found with stab wounds, boot prints and a gunshot wound.

The National Prosecuting Authority‘s Mpumalanga spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said the State on Friday served indictments on all four accused men and the matter was transferred to the Mbombela High Court.

The case is set to resume in the high court from 11 April to 12 May 2023. 

Compiled by Thapelo Lekabe

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