Rob Packham allegedly asked a colleague to lie for him on the morning his murdered wife Gill, 56, went missing.
This was revealed during the second day of his Cape High Court trial where the former Twizza boss faces murder and defeating the ends of justice charges.
Lodewyk Janse Van Rensburg, who is the logistics manager at the cooldrink manufacturer in Bellville, told the court he initially agreed to lie for his boss, but felt uneasy and later piemped him to the human resources manager.
He says on 22 February 2018, the day Gill went missing, he did not see Packham at Twizza as he prepared for a 10 am meeting in Soneike.
He returned to the office after the meeting and was standing in a smoking area when Packham called him at 12.23pm.
“He said Gill and Nicola [their daughter] had a fight with him and Gill was missing,” said Janse Van Rensburg.
MURDERED: Wife Gill Packham
“He told me that if anyone phoned, I must say we had a meeting at 8.30am at the plant. I agreed because he said Gill was missing. After that I went to the HR manager. I was not happy with the request. I never saw him (that morning) and felt uneasy.”
Packham has denied cooking up an alibi and claimed on the morning Gill went missing, he went looking for a car for her.
However, Janse Van Rensburg provided the court with WhatsApp messages which show Packham sent him texts about the fake meeting three days after Gill had died.
Diep River police shift commander, Warrant Officer Clive Muller, also took to the stand and revealed that no missing persons report for Gill had been filed at the station.