The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has provisionally withdrawn the criminal charges against the four men accused of killing Hillary Gardee.
Hillary Gardee murder case
The trial against the accused – Sipho Mkhatshwa, Philemon Lukhele, Albert Gama and Hlabirwa Rassie Nkune – was meant to get underway on Wednesday in the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela.
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However, the matter was provisionally withdrawn after the state prosecutor informed the court that a witness could not be found.
Judge Takalani Ratshibvumo warned the accused that the withdrawal of the charges did not mean that the men were acquitted of murder, rape and kidnapping charges.
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Gardee, the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, was found on 3 May near a timber plantation outside Mbombela, after she went missing at the Nelspruit Plaza on 29 April.
The 28-year-old was found with stab wounds, boot prints and a gunshot wound.
*This is a developing story. More to follow.
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