The man allegedly at the centre of Uitenhage teacher Jayde Panayiotou’s hit murder has claimed he was never on the run from police. In fact, Luthando Siyoni, 37, told the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court yesterday that he had not even known authorities had been looking for him for close to six months.
Siyoni was finally arrested on May 7, almost six months after the Port Elizabeth High Court found him to be a liar on the stand and advised that he not be indemnified from prosecution.
Siyoni had testified in the trial of Jayde’s husband, Christopher Panayiotou, and co-accused Sinethemba Nemembe and Zolani Sibeko.
Panayiotou was later sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating Jayde’s murder.
“I was excused from the high court after my testimony. I was not advised by [Judge Dayalin Chetty] that I need to come back or that I was now regarded as a suspect,” Siyoni told magistrate Thandeka Mashiyi.
Reading from Siyoni’s affidavit, defence attorney Zolile Ngqeza said: “Ngqeza later received an e-mail from Judge Chetty’s secretary [in November], who advised him that he needed to be at court [for judgment]. It was clear my presence was never required.”
Investigating officer Captain Kanna Swanepoel had earlier told Mashiyi that a warrant had been issued for Siyoni’s arrest and that his officers had searched across the province for him.
He was eventually arrested in an outbuilding at his mother’s Kwazakhele home.
But Siyoni said yesterday he had left Port Elizabeth to attend a cleansing ritual.“When I returned home, my mother informed me that two white men in civilian clothing and in an unmarked vehicle had been to the house to look for me. These men did not leave their contact numbers.”
He reiterated that he had been assaulted by police during his initial arrest in April 2015, and that state advocate Marius Stander had been aware prior to him taking the stand that he was not prepared to “lie” for the state.
Stander, who opposed Siyoni’s bid for bail, submitted that he had already proven to be a flight risk.
Stander said police had been sent on a wild goose chase across the province in search of the accused.
Siyoni’s mother – in court yesterday – had also indicated that she did not know his whereabouts.
Shortly after Jayde’s kidnapping and murder in April 2015, Siyoni, who worked for Panayiotou at the time, told police his former boss had paid him to recruit hitmen to kill his wife.
Siyoni was made a Section 204 witness and asked to testify against Panayiotou in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
However, when he eventually took the stand, he recanted on his confession and told the trial court that he had been tortured by police and forced to implicate Panayiotou.
Mashiyi will give judgment on June 22.