PORT ELIZABETH - EX-EMPLOYEE GIVES DAMMING TESTIMONY AGAINST CHRISTOPHER PANAYIOTOU

File: Damning evidence came to light in court on Thursday when PE businessman, Christopher Panayiotou's (pictured) former OK Grocer store employee testified against him on the seventh day of his trial. Photo: Gallo Images / Beeld / Werner Hills

 Christopher Panayiotou’s ex-employee, Mawonga Ndedwa, “nailed” the businessman in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Thursday when he recalled how he had stumbled upon R30,000 in the OK Grocer store room and was told by his boss that he should pass the money on to Luthando Siyoni.

Other damning evidence included Ndedwa being instructed by Panayiotou to “destroy” a cellphone.

Ndedwa, a State witness, testified on the seventh day of the trial against Panayiotou and his two co-accused Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko.

The State alleges Panayiotou paid Luthando Siyoni, a bouncer from his Infinity nightclub, to hire hitman Sizwe Vumazonke to kidnap and kill his schoolteacher wife, Jayde.

Ndedwa who worked for the Panyiotous since 2012 as a merchandiser told the court how Panayiotou was a good boss, someone who treated his staff very well.

Ndedwa also elaborated on how Panayiotou would use his personal cellphone to call Siyoni. He claimed that at a later stage Panayiotou instructed him to “destroy” the device.

“Chris gave me R1,000 and told me to part ways with this phone, I’m curious so I asked why. Chris told me that [my] phone would cause police to be after me.”

Ndedwa said two weeks prior to Jayde’s disappearance, Christopher started to ask him to borrow his phone to make calls.

“Chris would come to me and borrow my phone, because he was my boss I would quickly give it to him. He would send me airtime,” he recalled.

He added he became aware that Panayiotou and Siyoni communicated via his cellphone.

“I became aware of this because Siyoni called me looking for Chris,” said Ndedwa.

Ndedwa went to on to explain that a week before Jayde’s disappearance on April 21 he stumbled upon R30,000 in a store room.

“I was opening the store, I went to fetch tools to fix a bread machine, when I reached the tool box I saw a money bag. I looked inside and said yoh that’s a lot of money. I put the money bag back and I though I must call Chris.”

“Chris told me that the money amounted to R30,000 and I must give the money to Thando..Thando didn’t show up so I locked up and went home. The next day Chris told me he had given the money away,” Ndedwa told the court.

But, in cross examination, Defence Advocate Terry Price accused Ndedwa of being a whisky thief who had several disciplinary charges against his name.

Price said that his testimony amounted to “laughable lies” and that Ndedwa had been fired by the Panayiotous for stealing.

“Twelve days after you were fired you made a statement about Chris to [Investigating Officer] Kanna [Swanepoel] nailing him?” Price asked.

Price further accused Ndedwa of misleading the court but the ex-employee insisted that all he wanted was his Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).

Ndedwa admitted to stealing 11 bottles of whisky but said that he was fed up and wanted a “way out” of working at the OK Grocer.

The ex-employee said it was his intention to leave his job. He said that he had seen his cellphone number in a local newspaper and wanted to inform the State that it was his cell number as he was “scared”.

VIA - enca.com