R100k for finding killer: Reward after City official shot dead at under-siege Delft site
|Published
KILLED: Wendy Kloppers, 48.
The City of Cape Town has put up a R100 000 reward to find those responsible for killing one of its official amid a vicious extortion war at its building sites.
Wendy Hendricks Kloppers, 48, was shot and killed at the Power Construction N2 Gateway site in Delft this past Thursday.
She is one of five people shot at the site in just a week.
Two weeks ago, three construction workers were shot and wounded and a petrol bomb was launched at the site by what is believed to be a syndicate running an extortion ring.
Matlhodi Maseko, DA spokesperson on human settlements, said there had been 14 cases of housing extortion reported.
Kloppers, who was working in the City’s Environmental Affairs Department and was inspecting the location in response to complaints, was shot multiple times while sitting in a white BMW.
A female passenger was wounded in the arm.
It is believed that Kloppers had been waiting for a security guard to open a gate when a man approached the car and fired several shots at the driver’s side.
According to the Weekend Argus, Kloppers tried to escape the gunman and rammed into the gate. The shooter fled in a car.
Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said Delft SAPS are investigating cases of murder and attempted murder.
“The unknown suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested, the motive for the attack is yet to be determined,” he added.
The Daily Voice reached out to Kloppers’ widower Raelton for comment, but he said they were not ready to speak to the media.
On Friday morning, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis visited the building site.
“We urge the SAPS to do whatever it takes to hunt down and find the perpetrators responsible for this violence,” he said.
“We are also increasing our reward to R100 000 for information leading to the successful prosecution of those responsible for the murder of this City official.”
The City said its building contractors have been targeted by an extortion ring, which has placed its R1-billion housing scheme in jeopardy.
Hill-Lewis said: “We feel devastated as an organisation today, and have a clear message for the public, the Delft community, and the future beneficiaries of this housing project: help us find the killers, and help us protect this housing project so that it is not derailed.”
He added that the R500 million Delft Symphony Way building project will house 3 300 beneficiaries from Blikkiesdorp to Freedom Farm.
“The motive for the shooting is unclear, but is part of a trend of violence directed at the housing project.
“The investigation is in the hands of the SAPS, but the City’s SSIU is assisting,” Hill-Lewis said.
Meanwhile, the City’s Mayco member for Human Settlements, Malusi Booi, said the construction site has been temporarily closed for safety reasons.