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Wife to tell 'how she hired hitmen'

Selby Makgotho

The precision with which a Pretoria woman planned to kill her pharmacist husband will be revealed in the Middelburg circuit court today.

Khomotso Tladi, wife of slain pharmacist Andrew Tladi, will take the stand in the trial that is expected to last for a week.

The state has alleged that Khomotso, 33, and family friend Eva Sithole, 45, hired three hitmen - Gustav Snyman, Samson Mogalaka and Gilbert Makhobela - to kill Andrew in December 2004.

Andrew Tladi was a senior manager responsible for pharmaceutical services in Limpopo's Health and Social Development Department. He was killed in Marble Hall, Mpumalanga, on December 3 2004.

The charge sheet states that Khomotso, who is the first accused, held several meetings with the hitmen before her husband's death where they planned to kill him.

Snyman, 19, has since turned state witness.

The charge sheet also alleges that Khomotso hired a motor vehicle for the three to travel from Pretoria to Polokwane to locate Andrew.

Khomotso also provided the hitmen with his photo and the address of his flat in Polokwane.

The three went back to Polokwane on December 3 where they located Andrew, shot him and then forced him into the boot of his own car.

They robbed him of his jacket, laptop and cellphone.

They then drove from Polokwane to Marble Hall.

Once there they fatally shot him while he was still in the boot of his car.

"They then phoned Khomotso and informed her that the job was done," reads the charge sheet.

At Andrew's funeral, Khomotso reportedly told stunned mourners that she had warned her husband about relocating. The couple lived in Pretoria.

She allegedly linked his death to fighting over tenders in the department.

Khomotso, Sithole, Mogalaka and Makhobela face six counts of murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, as well as defeating the ends of justice.

A total of 19 witnesses, including senior police detectives and forensic experts, have already testified against Khomotso.

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