• The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ordered the investigation into the Hillary Gardee murder should be handled by the Hawks and Crime Intelligence.
• The Gardee family brought an urgent application to compel the police to prioritise the investigation.
• The multidisciplinary team is expected to report to the family every two weeks.

The  Gardee family has welcomed a ruling by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, granting their urgent court application to compel the police and Police Minister Bheki Cele to prioritise the Hillary Gardee kidnapping and murder investigation.

The court ordered the investigation should be handed over to the Hawks and treated as a matter of urgency, her family said.

This decision comes after the Gardee family filed an urgent application with the High Court on Wednesday.

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The court ordered a multidisciplinary team comprising Crime Intelligence and the Hawks should be set up to conduct a proper investigation into the murder.

The team was also ordered to report back to the family every two weeks on developments in the case.

Family spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the ongoing delays, long-ending postponement, and lack of progress from the side of the police had left the family traumatised.

He added:

Following the court’s ruling, Tambo said the Gardee family was relieved by the steps taken by the judiciary and hoped this decision would pave the way for justice to be served.

Meanwhile, Sipho Mkhatshwa, Philemon Lukhele, and Albert Gama, the suspects believed to be behind the murder, have applied for bail in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court.

According to Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, Mkhatshwa’s bail application was postponed to 3 August, while Lukhele and Gama’s would proceed on 8 August.