Jayde’s friend in tears as she identifies murder accused Christopher Panayiotou
Cherise Swanepoel, a close friend and colleague of Jayde Panayiotou, broke down in tears when she was asked by the prosecution to identify Christopher Panayiotou, a man she had known for close on 20 years.
Swanepoel was testifying in the Port Elizabeth High court on Wednesday on the second day of the trial against Panayiotou and his two co-accused, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko.
The three men are accused of murdering school teacher Jayde on April 21 last year.
Swanepoel was Jayde’s good friend and colleague at Riebeek College in nearby Uitenhage and on the morning of her kidnapping, Jayde had been waiting for Swanepoel to give her a lift to work. The friends would lift club to the school which is situated about a thirty minute drive from Port Elizabeth.
State Prosecutor Marius Stander asked Swanepoel to recall the moments on April 21, the day Jayde’s alleged kidnapping took place.
Swanepoel told the court how on that day she had sent Jayde three Whatsapp messages saying that she was on her way. Swanepoel said her last message which was “here” never got delivered.
“On the day Jayde went missing, it was raining, I Whatsapped her to ask if I could come in and fetch her, Jayde replied that she would walk,” said Swanepoel.
Swanepoel went on to say that she waited for a while because sometimes Jayde “took long” to get to the gate, but when she eventually called her friend, it went straight to voicemail.
Swanepoel said that when she could not get hold of Jayde, she called the landline, there was no answer and she then called Christopher.
“I asked him where Jayde was, he said what do you mean? She’s gone to work – I said that’s not possible it’s my week to drive..I had spoken to her to say I was on my way and she knew it,” Swanepoel recalled.
Swanepoel said she then went inside the complex to meet Christopher who then told her “something wasn’t right”.
She then said they both drove around the Stellen Glen complex to look for Jayde and ask people for information.
Swanepoel said that after circling the complex, she and Christopher drove to Kwanobuhle after there was a suggestion that there was movement in her bank account at an ATM near Njoli Square.
Swanepoel said that at first Christopher sounded “surprised” to hear that Jayde had gone missing, and when defence Advocate Terry Price asked if he was concerned, Swanepoel said that he had sounded “determined to find [Jayde].”
It is alleged that Jayde’s husband Christopher Panayiotou paid Luthando Siyoni, a bouncer from his Infinity nightclub, to hire alleged triggerman, Sizwe Vumazonke to kidnap and kill Jayde. The State alleges that Sinethemba Nenembe assisted Vumazonke to kidnap and murder Jayde at the behest of her husband. Siyoni has since turned state witness while Vumazonke has died.
The trial continues.