Cape wine farmer’s widow ‘to get R3.5m’

Wine farmer Stefan Smit and his wife Zurenah. Stefan was killed during an attack at his Stellenbosch wine estate, Louiesenhof. Picture: Supplied

Wine farmer Stefan Smit and his wife Zurenah. Stefan was killed during an attack at his Stellenbosch wine estate, Louiesenhof. Picture: Supplied

Published Jun 23, 2019

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Cape Town - The widow of wine farmer Stefan Smit, who was shot execution-style on June 2 while having supper at his Stellenbosch wine estate home, stands to receive around R3.5 million.

A reliable source confirmed that Zurenah Smit, 53, was the beneficiary of millions from life insurance polices that had left her “well cared for”.

“Stefan definitely did not cut his wife off financially,” said the source, adding the exact amount of the payout was being calculated.

Zurenah was allegedly making tea in the kitchen when her husband was shot in the head and chest by four home invaders, who burst into the Louiesenhof wine estate home through an unlocked door. The couple’s dinner guest, 71, whose name is being withheld after she complained to Weekend Argus that identifying her would place her life in danger, was allegedly the only eyewitness to the shooting.

The guest disputed police reports that the attackers were wearing balaclavas. “They were not wearing anything over their faces,” she said, declining to comment further.

News of Zurenah’s life policy payout comes after media reports last week that she was cut out of Smit’s will, which was altered late last year after R200 000 was stolen from his safe. He suspected the theft to be an inside job.

Media reports after Smit’s funeral two weeks ago noted that while his two daughters from a previous marriage stood to inherit several million, Zurenah would not receive any cash and would have to repay any loans from her husband back to his estate.

The balance of Smit’s estate is bequeathed to a trust. Smit’s sister, his two daughters and their mother are beneficiaries. His ex-wife is one of the trustees. Zurenah’s only benefit from the will, said the source who confirmed her policy payout, was a home in a Stellenbosch retirement village.

It is also understood that Zurenah has no claim to the R45m Smit made from his sale to the municipality of a farm adjacent to Louiesenhof. The sale followed a 2018 land invasion, which prompted Smit to hire bodyguard Brad van Eyslend, 47.

The ex-police captain was in his nearby room at the time of the attack. He told cops that although he was only metres from where Smit’s body was found, he had heard nothing amiss.

Police investigators, who remain tight-lipped, allegedly no longer consider the attack to be a typical farm murder. An inspection of the home’s perimeter fencing revealed no sign of forced entry. CCTV footage allegedly revealed no attackers leaving or entering the home.

Weekend Argus

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