Bouncer bombshell in Panayiotou trial
Christopher Panayiotou's bouncer dropped an unconventional bombshell during a 15 minute speech addressing Judge Dayalin Chetty in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Tuesday, on alleged behind-the-scene conversations between himself, his lawyer and the prosecution claiming his statement was "rubbish".
Luthando Siyoni claimed his statement, which appears to implicate Panayiotou arranging a hit on his schoolteacher wife Jayde in April last year, was "rubbish".
"I told [Prosecutor Marius] Stander I was not going to mention what was written here because it is rubbish. If he did not agree then they [could] make me an accused," Siyoni said.
Stander for the most part on Monday, discredited his key witness by asking the bouncer questions surrounding a statement he had made to police at Fort Beaufort. Siyoni recanted on the majority of the content, he denied that Panayiotou asked him to arrange for people to kill Jayde.
Siyoni also denied that he stated "Chris asked me why it was taking so long to kill his wife. I phoned Sizwe Vumazonke and asked him the same question".
He simply stated: "I do not recall saying this" or "I did not mention this voluntarily, I was forced."
Once the prosecution reached midway asking questions, Siyoni asked Stander to start from the beginning of the statement as he needed to rectify or change his answers.
At the end of the day Siyoni attempted to defend his testimony by way of making a 15 minute speech, he told Chetty that Investigating Officer Kanna Swanepoel and the prosecution continually visited him at prison, without the knowledge of his lawyer Zolile Ngqeza.
"They sat and pleaded with me not to give up being a Section 204 witness," said Siyoni.
Siyoni then elaborated on a consultation where he claimed that Stander and Swanepoel did not want him to mention to the court that he was assaulted by the police.
On Monday, the court heard upon Siyoni's arrest during April last year he was "tortured by police" in Uitenhage to say "what they wanted" him to say, this according to the bouncer, who has since backtracked on his middleman status.
"They said I must not mention the fact that I was assaulted. Then I told them I was going to tell the truth that I was assaulted and then I was forced to tell their truth."
Siyoni claimed that the prosecution and investigating officer were "always rectifying" the statement.
Siyoni said his previous lawyer Ryno Scholtz was aware of this.
"The second consultation with Mr Stander and Mr Ngqeza I told them that I was not going to deviate from the version that I gave, I'm not going to go to court and tell a lie, the fact I hit my head while they were assaulting me," he said.
"The decision of Mr Kanna and Mr Stander [was] that I can't say to the court that I was assaulted they are going to lose me and they are going to lose Chris, Mr Price would fine them with some money and they would lose their jobs."
Siyoni claimed that he made his position clear to the prosecution prior to being called to the stand- he was "assaulted by police" at Uitenhage and his subsequent statement made at Fort Beaufort SAPS was "rubbish".
"Kanna also mentioned something to the the effect of tree poison, because if this thing comes out it would be said they poisoned me..so what I want the court to take note of, that these denials here this is not the first time I have denied this," he said.
"Everything that happened between myself, Mr Kanna and Mr Stander, including the people who tortured me, Mr Stander knows. So I am surprised that he is asking questions as if he is not aware of the content of this statement that he is confronting me with, because he knows the truth and this is not the truth."
Chetty adjourned proceedings and ended the day off by saying: "I think that we have a lot of information to digest".
The trial continues on Wednesday, it will be Siyoni's fourth day on the stand.