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Middleman in Panayiotou murder needs to cough up legal fees


Self-confessed middleman Luthando Siyoni, who allegedly sourced a hitman to murder schoolteacher Jayde Panayiotou, made his first appearance in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Thursday.

The case was postponed for Siyoni to make payment to his lawyer Zolile Ngqeza.

Siyoni faces charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder after he allegedly sourced a hitman to kill Jayde in April 2015 at the behest of her husband, Christopher Panayiotou.

He was meant to be the State’s star witness during the murder trial of Jayde’s husband Christopher Panayiotou, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko, but while testifying he recanted his police statements and refused to answer any questions put to him by the State.

Sioyni's Section 204 status was revoked and he was declared a hostile witness.

The former bouncer at Panayiotou’s nightclub was arrested in May last year in Kwazakhele after evading arrest for more than six months.

Judge Irma Schoeman said the postponement was to determine if Siyoni would keep to his financial arrangement with his lawyer Zolile Ngqeza.

Following a mammoth trial, in November 2017 Judge Dayalin Chetty found the businessman guilty of murdering his schoolteacher wife. 

He is now serving a life sentence.

Nenembe was found guilty on charges of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances and Zolani Sibeko was found guilty on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

The State called it a contract killing and Chetty found there was no doubt that Jayde was "executed".

The case was provisionally postponed to the 20 th of June.

-African News Agency (ANA)