Jayde murder case postponed as accused in a coma in hospital

One of the suspected hit men accused of kidnapping and murdering Jayde Panayiotou in April last year is in a coma.

State advocate Marius Stander said Sizwezakhe Vumazonke was admitted to Livingstone Hospital‚ where he was under police watch.

The cause of his illness is not known.

Pre-trial proceedings‚ scheduled to kick off in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Monday morning‚ were postponed to September 15.

It was the second time Vumazonke’s illness had caused the proceedings to be halted after advocate Hannelie Bakker last month said her client was so ill he could barely walk and required urgent medical attention‚ and the matter was stood down until Monday.

Vumazonke is accused alongside Jayde’s husband‚ Christopher Panayiotou‚ and suspected hit men Sinethemba Nemembe and Zolani Sibeko.