High court orders Hillary Gardee kidnapping and murder probe to be prioritised

The Pretoria high court has ordered that investigations into the kidnapping and murder of Hillary Gardee be prioritised.

It ordered that a multidisciplinary team comprising of SAPS, crime intelligence and Hawks officers be appointed to investigate, inspect, search and collect evidence.

The team is to keep the Gardee family informed of developments every two weeks.

The family brought an urgent application to compel the police and minister of police Bheki Cele to prioritise the investigation.

The matter was heard in camera due to sensitive evidence of “persons of interest” annexed to the papers.

The family argued that the court should compel the police to hand over the docket to the Hawks, who have the skills and technology to investigate the case.

Family spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the relief granted by the court was a victory for citizens in the battle against gender-based violence and a reminder of the constitutional obligation of the SAPS to serve citizens.

“In this regard, the first meeting between the family‘s representatives, advocate Gillian Benson and advocate Lawrence Mrwebi, with the multidisciplinary team will be scheduled at the earliest convenience with [the police] team,” Tambo said.

TimesLIVE