Alleged child killer and molester, Mohydian Pangaker, is set to bring two witnesses to defend him at the Western Cape High Court as he continues to deny all charges against him.
Pangaker’s lawyer, advocate Saleem Halday, shocked the court on Wednesday when he said he would be consulting with the man accused of murdering Tazne van Wyk about possible witnesses for the defence case.
After more than a week on the stand, Pangaker has based his defence on rejecting all the claims of his relatives and claiming that eight-year-old Tazne was killed by four unknown kidnappers who snatched him and the girl twice in one day.
The Grade 3 pupil from Eurecon Primary went missing on 7 February 2020 when she was snatched just metres from her home in Clare Street.
As a search was launched, Pangaker’s relatives told cops that he had also disappeared and cops went on the hunt.
He was later arrested in Cradock in the Eastern Cape and while on his way to Cape Town, he told cops where to find her body in a stormwater drain in Worcester.
This week, he stunned the court when he claimed that he and Tazne were kidnapped by the four unknown kidnappers in Connaught Estate, not once but twice in the same day.
He also said that he was tied up as Tazne was taken to a river to be killed and later dumped in the stormwater drain.
To date, the State has called a wide variety of witnesses including medical experts, police officials and most damning, Pangaker’s relatives, who told the court horrific tales of sexual abuse of children and his own daughter with whom he had fathered a child.
In his closing statements while under cross examination, Pangaker claimed that those who accused him of rape wanted the “limelight” and thought they would be featured in the media.
However, strict court rules forbade the media from being present during these testimonies.
Addressing the court yesterday, Halday said: “My Lord, at this stage I need time to consult about the possibility of the defence calling two witnesses for the defence case. We need time to locate and consult with these possible witnesses.”
The State agreed to help Halday find the witnesses and the trial was postponed to Monday.
Halday did not reveal the identities of these witnesses or what they would testify about.