Investigating officer grilled in Panayiotou murder trial

The procedure followed by police prior to the sting operation in which Christopher Panayiotou allegedly implicated himself came under the microscope on Friday as lawyers for the defence pressed investigating officer Kanna Swanepoel to shed some light on how permission for the sting was granted.

Swanepoel was testifying in the trial of Panayiotou, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko who are charged with conspiring to kidnap and murder Panayiotou’s schoolteacher wife Jayde Panayiotou during April 2015.

During a trial-within-a-trial, defence advocate Terry Price wanted to know how Swanepoel had gone about getting permission for Panayiotou’s bouncer, Luthando Siyoni to meet up with the businessman at a filling station.

The trial-within-a-trial aims to deal with the admissibility of the video recording in which the businessman allegedly implicates himself.

On April 28th and 29th 2015, the police facilitated calls between Siyoni and Panayiotou at the Hawks offices in Newton Park.

Swanepoel told the court that the purpose of the calls were to get Panayiotou to implicate himself, however the plan was not working and at some stage they “gave up”.

But Panayiotou then called back and the plan to have two meet in a vehicle was set in motion.

“Did you call the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions], did you get permission?” asked Price.

Swanepoel replied: “I think so, I would have never continued without permission.”

Swanepoel also said that he was not certain if he himself made the second call to Advocate Selwyn Gounden from the DPP seeking permission for the sting operation.

“I can’t recall if I made the call myself or if I instructed Warrant Officer Leon Eksteen to do so.”

“Gounden gave permission for the calls, Gounden gave permission for the video and audio. I wouldn’t put it in place without permission,” an agitated Swanepoel told the court.

Price hit back and said that nowhere in Swanepoel’s three affidavits did he mention the second call to the DPP seeking permission.

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