The relatives of the man arrested for the murder of Wesbank apostle Stanley Kleinsmidt claim he wasn’t in the area when the incident happened.
The holy man of the Bethesda Deliverance Tabernacle Church was killed inside his home on 17 December. The 62-year-old was shot in the face as he was trying to prevent the killers from shooting his grandson.
Kleinsmidt’s relative Elizabeth van Wyk says: “He heard the noise and started shouting at the suspects and even swore at them, thinking they would go away, but they didn’t.
“He was sleeping alone in his room which is on the side of the house, but has a door which is attached to the rest of his home.
“Two suspects pushed the gate open and then went to the room, they shot him with a gun with a silencer in front because we didn’t hear any gunshot.
“I don’t know whether they shot him after gaining entry or not.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the murder suspect Glen Benayo appeared in Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court, where he was charged with housebreaking, murder, and the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The 23-year-old told the court that he will be represented by a Legal Aid lawyer.
A relative told the Daily Voice that Benayo was a skollie: “On Friday, Glen came home from Belhar, he said he was going to a party in Kuils River, and then on Saturday morning the police came and collected him.
“The police said they were going to take him to the police station because he was not supposed to be in Wesbank.
“He is a gangster, but that doesn’t mean he was there at the time of the shooting.”
The relative said Benayo had faced murder charges before.
The relative says: “He spent two years in jail and after that he was released after the case was withdrawn. He was charged with murder and then the court found out that he was not at the scene.
“We hope for the same outcome with this one, he was not there, we all know that, but if it is proven that he is guilty he should then face the music and be convicted.”