Hillary Gardee’s body was found dumped in a plantation outside Nelspruit towards Sabie, after which 28-year-old Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna reportedly confessed to the murder. Picture: Supplied
THE Correctional Services Department has outright denied liability in the Hillary Gardee murder case following a R18 million letter of demand for negligence during their investigations.
The department is being sued by the family of the then 28-year-old Hillary for releasing the man who is accused of murdering their daughter, after he was supposed to have been charged for absconding on parole on a different matter.
The slain woman is the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, who is also an attorney.
Independent Media previously reported that Hillary was kidnapped in Nelspruit while she was in town with her 3-year-old adopted daughter.
Her body was found dumped in a plantation outside Nelspruit towards Sabie, after which 28-year-old Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna reportedly confessed to the murder.
Police initially said he confessed to using his social media account to prey on unsuspecting women and luring them to their deaths.
Nkuna, at the time, was facing several criminal charges ranging from armed robbery and murder to the possession of a stolen vehicle.
He allegedly absconded from parole management for two years but at the time he was arrested for an alleged rape offence, charges were withdrawn and he was let go despite the incomplete abscondment case.
The letter of demand, addressed to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and drafted by Makhakheni Mashele of MM Mashele Attorneys, states that the department “acted negligently” in Nkuna’s parole after he was arrested on a long list of serious charges, including armed robbery, murder and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
The letter further demanded that the department pay R18m and lodge an apology.
However more than a week ago, on Valentine’s Day the department filed a plea in defence to the High Court, Mpumalanga division, which the Sunday Independent has seen, denying any liability to the accusations.
The document reads in part: “Save to admit that the plaintiff is Godrich Gardee, defendants deny each and every further allegation made herein and the plaintiffs are put to the proof thereof.
“The defendants deny the content hereof and plaintiffs are put to proof thereof.”
The Correctional Services spokesperson had not responded to the Sunday Independent by the time of publication.
Mashele, who is representing the Gardee family, told the Sunday Independent this week that the department had decided to file a plea in defence that is a “bare denial”.
According to Mashele, bare denial is a plea that does not raise any defence and denies everything without providing a defence.
“This is what many government departments do when they are in a corner…they use delaying tactics… This is clearly one of those cases when they are using delaying tactics.
“From here we are going to discovery and pretrial very soon … and if they drag their feet we are going to compel them to discover and we are going to compel them to attend pre-trial,” Mashele said.
He added: “Hillary was killed by a parolee who absconded from parole for two years.
“In between the two years he was in custody of the police for three months for an unrelated sexual abuse case which was withdrawn …
“Instead of Correctional Services keeping him in custody because he had absconded from parole and charging him for escape from lawful custody, they let him walk out of the dock.
“Instead of them keeping him to finish his initial sentence that he was paroled for and absconded they still let him walk … They should have added more charges but they let him walk and he killed four women after that,” he said.
Mashele is adamant that if Nkuna had been kept in custody, Hillary would still be alive.
“Ten days after killing Hillary, he killed two women, his fiancée and her sister.
“After killing those women, he went to Boksburg to kill another woman and that’s when he got arrested and (was) traced back to the other three murders.
“We are not fighting for parole. We are saying the State failed to manage the parole system because if it was managed properly he would have been apprehended within two years of abscondment and charged him for abdicating from parole.
“He was even brought back to custody for a different case and instead of flagging him for abscondment, they let him go,” he said.
Nkuna was sentenced to life behind bars for the murder of Pretty Mazibuko, 42, and her sister Marcia, 43, last year.
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za