Pretoria – Hillary Gardee’s ID book has been found six months after her body was recovered in bush outside Nelspruit in May.
Pictures of the torn identity book have been shared on social media by Hillary’s father, Godrich Gardee, the former secretary-general of the EFF.
Gardee wrote on Twitter: “A good citizen called us on November 3 (Thursday) to pick up the remains of the ID book at a school 100km from where we got her body on May 3. Thank you my sister TN. School named after a kidnap victim of #EugeneDeKock, Prime Evil.”
Gardee also shared a photo of the Portia Shabangu Secondary School, where the ID book was found, and noting that the school was named after a kidnap victim who was shot dead by former apartheid police hit squad leader Eugene de Kock.
In an additional tweet, Gardee highlighted that the identity book had been found near a place with links to one of the men arrested in connection with Hillary’s murder – Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna.
“The place is next to the house of the girlfriend of the suspect, a lady and her sister killed a week later by same suspect after suspect had killed #HillaryGarde…”
Police have said after his arrest, Nkuna confessed to Hillary’s murder.
Nkuna is also on trial for the murder of police officer Sergeant Marcia Mazibuko and her sister, Pretty Mazibuko, in May at Kanyamazane, outside Nelspruit.
Nkuna was Pretty's boyfriend, and her sister Marcia worked at the Ngodwana police station in Kanyamazane.
Last month, it emerged that the Gardee family was suing the government for R18 million “for acting negligently” on the release on parole of Nkuna, who went on to allegedly kill their beloved daughter.
The letter seen by IOL, drafted by MM Mashele Attorneys in Pretoria, insists the Department of Justice and Correctional Services “acted negligently” in releasing Nkuna on parole after he was arrested on a long list of charges including armed robbery, murder and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Additionally, the department is accused of failing to rein in Nkuna for violating his parole conditions for two years after his release in 2019.
“The parolee was arrested for an alleged rape offence and subsequently the case was withdrawn. However, your department did not press charges for violating his parole conditions for such a longest time and as such equivalent to escape from lawful custody,” the lawyers’ letter read.
“If the parolee had been charged for abscondment and violation of his parole conditions when he was later arrested for an unrelated charge, he would have been released sometime in 2023, and the late Hillary Gardee would not have been his victim, causing the Gardee family so much grief.”
The Pretoria attorneys said their instructions included demanding an apology from the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, and a payment for general damages as a result of the murder of their daughter in the amount of R2 million each for nine family members “whose particulars shall be availed on request”.
Philemon Lukhele, Sipho Mkhatshwa, Mduduzi Gama and Nkuna are behind bars for Hillary’s murder.
Sunday Independent previously reported that Nkuna, who has also appeared in the Delmas Magistrate’s Court charged with killing 27-year-old Nonkululeko Crystal Nkosi and dumping her body in a farm dam before driving off in her Mercedes-Benz, maintains he acted alone when he killed Gardee.
Nkuna has reportedly said he did not know Lukhele, Mkhatshwa and Gama, the men who were first arrested in connection with Hillary’s murder.
IOL