Africa-Press – South-Africa. An alleged murderous wife, a former police detective and his brother-in-law, who are accused of murdering a Stellenbosch farmer, will go on trial in the Western Cape High Court next year.
Initially scheduled to commence on Monday, the case was postponed to February 2024 owing to the unavailability of a judge to hear the case against Zurenah Smit, Derek Sait and Steven Damon who are accused of killing Stefan Smit.
Zurenah is accused of orchestrating the hit on her vintner husband, who was shot dead on his farm, Louisenhof, on 2 June 2019 during a supposed robbery while the couple had dinner with a friend.
The State charged Zurenah left the door unlocked, allowing unfettered access to the gunmen who killed him.
Smit had various business entities – Louisenhof Cellars CC, Ribbok Heuwels Trust and WS Smit Watergang Trust, which owned the farm and Watergang, of which majority was sold to the Stellenbosch Municipality after it was illegally occupied.
The farmer had employed Bradley van Eysland as the security manager to tighten and improve his security as he feared for his and his wife’s safety.
Van Eysland, who was requested to personally ensure Zurenah’s safety, had become close, the State alleged, and she had confided in him she was in an unhappy marriage.
She wanted her husband killed, according to the prosecution, and Van Eysland approached the farm security guard, Sait.
When Smit wanted to end Van Eysland’s expensive contract, he and Sait allegedly invented fake security incidents to convince the farmer he needed them.
This includes threatening SMSes, warnings on his vehicle, burning tyres at the farm entrance and fake claims by Zurenah that she saw people hiding in the bushes near their home.
Smit is believed to have been killed with a gun stolen from his safe.
The State alleged Zurenah had given her husband sleeping pills and stole two firearms and other valuables after retrieving the safe keys from a moon bag he carried around his waist.
In addition, Zurenah also faces charges of fraud relating to Smit’s mother’s will.
This after she allegedly drafted a will making herself the sole heir of Martha Smit’s estate, aside from leaving R150 000 to each of her four grandchildren.
The document was dated 31 March 2014, two weeks after she had made and signed one with her executor.
She and Sait are also accused of forging an affidavit giving her special power of attorney, granting her full control over the management of her husband’s businesses, R5 million, Louisenhof, a section of Nooitgedacht farm, including its contents and rental income, making herself the sole heir of his trust, his German pension, and an undisclosed number of diamonds in safekeeping in Germany.
This was allegedly to generate enough money to pay Van Eysland and Sait R2 million each for the hit.
The pair is accused of roping in Damon to assist.
In addition to Smit’s murder, they also face 14 other charges, including aggravated robbery, forgery and uttering.
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