[ad_1]
Zurenah Smit, 54, is listed in connection with the murder of her husband, Stellenbosch wine producer Stefan Smit, in June 2019.
- Zurenah Smit, the wife of slain Stellenbosch farmer Stefan Smit, made her first appearance in Stellenbosch Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
- He turned himself in to police on Monday, four days after police, armed with a search warrant, knocked on his relatives’ doors.
- Derek Sait, one of the couple’s bodyguards and a former police officer, as well as Steven Damon, her brother-in-law, have been charged alongside her.
Zurenah Smit, charged with the murder of her husband, wine producer Stefan, read Islamic scriptures while waiting for the proceedings against her to begin Tuesday.
Dressed in traditional black Muslim garb, the little widow had a diminutive figure as she stood on the dock of the Stellenbosch Magistrates Court clutching a spectacle case.
Magistrate Alaric Amos postponed the case against her until Thursday to request bail.
Smit, who married the vintner in 2005, faces charges of murder, home burglary, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, as well as assault with the intent to inflict serious bodily harm.
He turned himself in to police on Monday, four days after his two co-defendants, Derek Sait and Steven Damon, were arrested on the same charges. The police had come looking for her earlier that day, but managed to evade arrest.
Sait, a former police officer, was one of the couple’s bodyguards. Damon is his brother-in-law.
Zurenah Smit, 54, reads Islamic scriptures while on the dock for the murder of her husband, Stellenbosch wine producer Stefan Smit, in June 2019.
The security equipment had been employed by the couple after the 2018 occupation of Watergang, alongside Louiesenhof, which is owned by the Smit family through a trust. Watergang was occupied by backwards from nearby Kayamandi who renamed it Azania. Following a ban request to remove them, the municipality finally bought the land from the owners for R45 710,000.
Despite tight security, including a double fence system, an electric fence and barbed wire, on June 2, 2019, four armed suspects entered Louiesenhof through a keyless door while the Smits were having dinner with a friend .
Smit, 62, had been shot and killed in the apparent burglary of the home during which two cell phones and a purse were stolen.
Zurenah and the guest had escaped unharmed, while Smit was shot several times in the head and upper body.
Netwerk24 reported last year that her husband had changed his will in December 2018 and that Zurenah had inherited nothing except the right of residence in a retirement village in Stellenbosch.
News24 understands that Smit will be held at Pollsmoor until his next appearance.
Do you want to know more about this topic? Sign up to receive one of 33 News24 newsletters to receive the information you want in your inbox. There are special newsletters available to subscribers.
