On the day Hillary Gardee was murdered, one of the men who allegedly kidnapped, raped, and killed her was having lunch at his favourite pub in Mbombela city centre and sharing his dreams about getting his farm up and running.
Philemon Lukhele was relaxed and watching YouTube videos on April 30, according to Isaac Mahlangu, Lukhele's long-time friend and CEO of the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency.
Mahlangu said he and Lukhele had been friends since their time in the ANC Youth League.
“There was nothing different on that day.”
He said when he arrived, Lukhele had ordered Corona beers and was watching a YouTube video on his phone.
“He looked like there was absolutely nothing [wrong]. When it came out [that he was arrested] I was like, yoh, this guy I was with him, he didn’t look strange, he was just laughing and going on about everything,” said Mahlangu.
“He said he was going to buy a truck at Nkomazi, he had been talking about his farm or a plot in Nkomazi, he was very business-minded. The only thing we spoke about was his truck and how he wants that farm or that plot to run,” he said.
Mahlangu said he had met Lukhele at 1.30pm. He stayed for 10 to 15 minutes and then left with his takeaway. He assumed Lukhele also left then.
The Prestige pub's owner Lucky George confirmed this version. He told the Sunday Times they were still setting up for the day and Lukhele was there with Mahlangu for a short while during lunch. He said they both left after that, he assumed in different cars. Lukhele told Mahlangu he was on his way to Nkomazi.
George said police had requested CCTV footage from Friday April 29 and Saturday April 30.
He said Lukhele was often at the pub, but he had never seen Gardee, or the other suspects, there.
Gardee’s rape and murder sent shock waves through SA after her body was found on May 3
Gardee’s rape and murder sent shock waves through SA after her body was found on May 3.
She was a businesswoman, and though she was the daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee, friends said she refused to ask him for help even when her business was struggling.
According to the police, Lukhele, 47, Sipho Mkhatshwa, 39, and Albert Gama, 52, had already kidnapped the 28-year-old and had either already murdered her or were about to when Mahlangu met Lukhele in the pub.
On Monday, the prosecutor told the Nelspruit magistrate’s court that Mkhatshwa, Lukhele and Gama raped Gardee on April 29 and murdered her the following day at Insika Guest House, which Lukhele owns.
They abandoned their bail bids this week and remain in custody.
Insika Guest House, which served as student accommodation, is just over 1km from Godrich Gardee's house and 500m from his brother’s house.
Godrich this week said he was pained by the fact that he unknowingly passed the place where his daughter was kept captive while they were busy with the search and rescue mission.
According to her business partner and close friend Lwazi Khoza, he had asked Gardee if she could leverage her father’s political and business influence to get their IT business, LZL Distributors, government tenders or business deals.
She refused.
“We never involved him in our company, she never wanted him to be involved. She felt like she wanted to do things herself and didn’t want to bother her dad or rely on him a lot.”
He said Gardee’s relationship with Godrich “wasn’t really good”.
The motive for Hillary Gardee's murder remains a mystery, even to her closest friends and family
“It was just a normal daughter and father relationship. If there was something needed at the house she would just make contact here and there,” he said.
He dismissed the idea that their business dealings may have had anything to do with her murder. They were a small company and their attempts to get bigger contracts with government or the University of Mpumalanga went nowhere.
The motive for her murder remains a mystery, even to her closest friends and family.
Gardee’s brother Noble Gardee said he last saw his sister just before noon on the Friday she vanished.
“I left the home we shared at 6.15am to go to work. During the morning I phoned Hillary and asked her if she was still at home and if she could bring me my cellphone charger which I had left at home,” he said.
“We met at Riverside [a business complex in Mbombela]. It was 11.40am. We chatted for about 20 minutes about how our days were going. She told me she was meeting a client at an office park opposite Makro to assist with a software upgrade on a tablet and that she had another appointment in Steitlers, which is another neighbourhood in Mbombela,” said Noble.
He said during their chat, Gardee was in a good mood.
“She seemed normal and was looking forward to the end of the week and spending time with the family. She was her usual chatty self.
“What we know is that she went to all her appointments. The last place she was seen was the Spar plaza between 5pm and 5.30pm. The plaza is 10 minutes from our home. Hillary would usually catch a taxi home from the plaza,” he said.
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