Cape Town - The man accused of abducting 8-year-old Tazne van Wyk, killing her and dumping her remains in a stormwater drain, is expected to take the stand and tell the court his version of events after the State closed its case last week.
Moehydien Pangaker is facing 27 charges including rape, murder, kidnapping, child exploitation, indecent assault, sexual assault, common assault, incest, child grooming, intimidation, violating a corpse and absconding from monitoring while he was on parole.
Pangaker pleaded not guilty to all charges as the State set out to prove not only that he kidnapped and killed Tazne, but also that he manipulated his own biological relative into an incestuous sexual relationship and fathered a child with her.
Witnesses who saw Pangaker with Tazne in Worcester on the day she went missing testified in court, while expert evidence further indicated physical contact with Pangaker at the time of her death and placed him at Parow Station and Worcester when Tazne went missing on February 7, 2020.
The court also heard in-camera testimony from his relative on the incest and rape charges and four other witnesses – all of whom were minors at the time of his alleged reign of terror.
The State alleged that another minor relative was raped by Pangaker on multiple occasions between 2016 and 2019 while they moved together from Ladismith to Ravensmead to Worcester.
The testimony of Pangaker’s ex-wife gave an account of how she lured him into a trap with the help of police by emotionally manipulating him into meeting her in Cradock, where he was eventually arrested on February 17, 2020.
Pangaker had been absconding from parole monitoring since January 2019 when a warrant for his arrest was issued.
Last week, Acting Judge Alan Maher allowed the admission of hearsay evidence in the form of statements from a shopkeeper who had seen Tazne with Pangaker and one of the arresting officers who took Pangaker into custody.
The trial suffered a minor setback when Pangaker was attacked by a fellow inmate and sustained injuries that affected his eye-sight.
The trial will continue today for the defence to respond to the allegations. Pangaker is represented by advocate Saleem Halday while advocate Lenro Badenhorst appears for the State.