Panayiotou’s lawyers want judge to recuse himself

In a bizarre twist, the defence team representing murder-accused Christopher Panayiotou have indicated they will bring an application for Judge Dayalin Chetty to recuse himself.

Earlier, a video recording in which Panayiotou allegedly implicated himself in his wife’s murder was ruled admissible by Chetty.

Subsequent to the ruling, Price pulled out all the stops in asking the court to adjourn the matter until next month.

“At the moment I am blind, and I am litigating in the dark. We need to take advice I cannot proceed at the moment,” Price said.

“I’m not looking for sympathy, it took me two weeks to draft those heads of argument, and they have just been thatched past your lordship, and they obviously didn’t mean a thing, and that is worrying to me. So I am asking you from the bottom of my heart, please allow me to properly prepare.”

Price indicated that the defence team would now want to rope in advocate Dup de Bruyn SC. Panayiotou’s lawyers said that they just did not know how to proceed going forward.

Price was adamant that Panayiotou had not been enjoying a fair trial, adding that the defence were overruled at every opportunity, even coming at Chetty for not providing reasons as to why he ruled the undercover police sting operation admissible.

“I am not obliged to give reason at a trial-within-a -trial,” Chetty told him.

However, Price retorted that Chetty could be mistaken. At some point comments in hushed tones were made in the public gallery to Price’s disapproval.

“I have been subjected to insults from the public gallery and on social media and not once has your lordship done anything,” said Price.

It is alleged that Panayiotou hired bouncer Luthando Siyoni, to recruit hitmen to kidnap and kill Jayde. The defence claimed that Siyoni was beaten and forced to implicate the businessman, making the video inadmissible.

The state, however, claims that in the recording, Panayiotou can be seen searching Siyoni for a wire. Panayiotou also allegedly told Siyoni to make it look like a robbery and not a hit.

Panayiotou also allegedly gave the bouncer R2 000 and told him to destroy his phone so that police could not trace it.

Panayiotou, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko are on trial for conspiring, kidnapping, robbing and murdering Jayde on April 21, 2015.

Panayiotou also faces an additional charge of defeating the ends of justice.

The matter was postponed to Wednesday, to give the defence time to prepare its application.

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