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Zurenah Smit, wife of slain Stellenbosch farmer Stefan Smit, appeared in Stellenbosch Magistrates Court for the first time on Tuesday, December 15 on charges of murder, home burglary, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, as well as intent to cause serious bodily harm. .
Smit was arrested Monday after turning herself in to the police, and two other people were also arrested and charged with the same charges.
Smit assassination initially linked to land dispute
Stefan Smit was murdered at his home in June 2019. Intruders allegedly broke into his home in Louisenhof Wine Estate while he was dining with his wife and a Swiss friend, shooting Smit, 63, three times and taking jewelry. .
The apparent theft of the home made headlines when it emerged that the murder could be related to a major dispute in the area over the land, with Smit forced to obtain an injunction against squatters occupying sections of his farm.
Smit married Zurenah in 2015, and she and the Swiss guest managed to escape the ordeal unscathed.
Three suspects known to Smit
Derek Sait, one of the men arrested Thursday, is a former police officer and was employed by Smit as a bodyguard. Smit is reported to have received several threats against his life prior to his murder. The second suspect arrested, Steven Damon, is Zurenah’s brother.
South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesman Lt. Col. Andre Traut said that more than a year since the incident, the ongoing investigation into the high-profile murder at the farm had led detectives to the residences of three suspects in Bellville South, Milnerton and Wynberg.
Two suspect men aged 50 and 56 were arrested and are due to appear in court in Stellenbosch [on Friday] to face the murder charge against him, ”Traut said on Friday, December 11, 2020.
Spouse accused of remaining in custody
Traut said the third suspect, Smit, had managed to evade arrest and was being wanted until he voluntarily reported to authorities yesterday.
“A third suspect, a 54-year-old woman, managed to evade arrest this morning and is being searched,” he said at the time.
Smit read Islamic scriptures and was dressed in traditional Muslim garb as she appeared Tuesday, and Magistrate Alaric Amos postponed proceedings to allow her bail request to be prepared.
She will be on remand in Pollsmoor Prison until then.
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