“I do not know a lady by the name of Hillary Gardee. I’ve never seen her and I never raped or killed her.”
This is the testimony of 52-year-old Albert Gama, one of the four men accused of killing Gardee, the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee.
Gama and one of his co-accused, Philemon Lukhele, 47, are applying for bail in the Nelspruit magistrate’s court.
Gardee went missing on April 29, while shopping with her adopted three-year-old daughter. The child was later that day dropped off at Umnenke Street at KaMaGugu, where they resided.
Gardee’s lifeless body with stab wounds, boot prints and a gunshot wound was found by timber plantation workers on May 3, about 60km outside Mbombela towards Sabie.
Taking the stand, Gama said: “I was never close to Sabie on April 29 and I don’t know that place. On that day, I was at work (Lukhele’s residence) and went to sit with a certain lady who sells fruits in town and later went back to my work place.
“During my arrest, the police came looking for a man called Khabazela but they were told that there’s only Gama here. They then came to my work station, told me to get into a car. In the car, they told me that there was a child killed at Intsika Guest House (which is owned by Lukhele) and said I raped and killed her, which I denied,” said Gama.
Earlier in the day, the accused’s lawyer Adv Ncobizitha Mlilo asked the court to compel the state to come straight as to what charges the accused is facing.
State prosecutor Adv Ntsika Mpolweni responded, saying the charge sheet was clear. “The charge... gives time-frames on the allegations against the accused. The state cannot therefore help the defence to defend themselves ...” said Mpolweni.
Magistrate Patrick Morris agreed with Mpolweni, saying the bail application should continue unless the defence is not ready.
The matter then proceeded.
Gama’s sister Sibongile Gama told the court that if released on bail, Gama could stay with her in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.
The other accused are Sipho Mkhatshwa, who was denied bail by the same court last week, and Hlabirwa Rasie Nkune, who is yet to appear on the matter.
Nkune has been linked to the killings of three other women, including one from Midrand, Johannesburg, whom he met on Facebook. The killing happened last week.
He has also been accused of killing his girlfriend Pretty Mazibuko and her cop sister Marcia in Kanyamazane, Mbombela, on May 15 – just 12 days after Gardee’s body was found.
The hearing continues.
newsdesk@sowetan.co.za
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