By: Natasha Archary
A fifth suspect has been arrested in the Hillary Gardee murder case, after he was linked to the deceased’s personal belongings.
Hillary Gardee is the daughter of former EFF Secretary-General, Godrich Gardee, and she went missing on 29 April.
Three men, Sipho Mkhatshwa, Philemon Lukhele and Mduduzi Gama, were arrested shortly after Gardee’s body was discovered near a timber plantation outside Mbombela.
She had been shot execution-style at the back of her head, before her body was moved from the crime-scene.
Her body was found on 03 May, despite a reward of R100 000 being offered for her safe return.
A fourth suspect, Hlabirwa Rasie Nkuna was arrested in Springs last week. Nkuna had allegedly confessed to police that he pulled the trigger and killed 28-year old Gardee.
The fifth suspect, identified only as a Nigerian national in his mid-thirties, was arrested in Mpumalanga on Sunday, 14 August. Mpumalanga police say the suspect has been charged with defeating the ends of justice after being questioned.
Her father has accused Eswatini ruler, King Mswati of killing his daughter. He says his daughter’s death comes due to the EFF’s border policy and the protest that was held shutting down the border into Swaziland.
Godrich Gardee says this meant the Eswatini government suffered economically, a claim that was vehemently denied by King Mswati.
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