Justice failed Gardee family, says advocacy group
Sonke Gender Justice believes the South African justice system has failed Hillary Gardee's family.
The comes after the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela provisionally withdrew all charges against the four men accused of Gardee's murder due to the state witnesses in the case being unavailable last week.
The accused, Sipho Lawrence Mkhatshwa, Albert Mduduzi Gama, Philemon Lukhele and Rassie Hlabirwa Nkune, faced charges of murder, kidnapping, possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, and defeating the ends of justice.
Gardee, who is the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, was found killed execution-style in Mbombela in April last year
In a statement the human rights advocacy group says the court's ruling may likely create a perception that the state no longer had a strong case against the alleged perpetrators.
"This is one more failure by the criminal justice system. These suspects were in jail for months on end. The family was eagerly awaiting court processes to end so as to have closure, now the suspects have been released with a provisional withdrawal. We don’t know why this is the case only now."
It says the state has an obligation to do better in the interest of justice for victims of similar heinous crimes.
"We feel the pain of the family who have to continue with the trauma of not knowing who was responsible for the death of their loved one."
