Double trial for Panayiotou co-accused as high court date looms

[caption id="attachment_87802" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Christopher Panayiotou and his co-accused Sizwezakhe Vumazonke[/caption]

THE courtroom was again packed with family and members of the media when murder accused Christopher Panayiotou and Sizwezakhe Vumazonke appeared briefly in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

Their appearance in court was to establish when their case would be transferred to the high court for trial.

Panayiotou, 28, and Vumazonke, 30, are charged with the murder of Panayiotou’s wife, Jayde, 29, whose body was found on a remote road near Uitenhage after she was abducted at their Kabega townhouse complex in Port Elizabeth in April in a crime which made national headlines.

Panayiotou is alleged to have orchestrated and paid for Jayde’s murder and Vumazonke is accused of being the shooter.

Alleged middleman Luthando Siyoli, 31, was not in court as all the charges against him were withdrawn on Tuesday.

Siyoli is a Section 204 witness, or state witness, and is due to testify against Panayiotou and Vumazonke at the trial.

Panayiotou gave a quick glance to his family in the front row as he entered the court, while Vumazonke scowled.

However, Vumazonke’s expression softened when he saw his sister sitting next to the Panayiotou family. Panayiotou’s advocate Terry Price SC, under instruction from attorney Alwyn Griebenow, sought to confirm when the charges against Siyoli were withdrawn.

-Riaan Marais