Raelton Kloppers, partner of Wendy Kloppers – a City of Cape Town housing official who was gunned down at a Delft construction site last year – expressed shock upon learning that two suspects, Michael Morris and Sharazaadht Essop, were linked to the underworld.
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The pair have joined alleged gang boss Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson in a case involving Wendy’s murder, a police officer’s hit, and the shooting of a Kraaifontein gang leader. The case has been postponed to 13 September.
‘I was in complete shock to hear that the Stanfields are linked to Wendy’s unfortunate death. We had thought she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,’ Kloppers said. He added that this revelation has deeply affected his family, especially their two sons, aged 11 and 18.
Kloppers shared that Wendy loved her job and never indicated any threats from underworld figures.
‘If someone threatened her or offered her a bribe, I can categorically state that she would not even think of taking it,’ he said.
He also mentioned that the family avoids court appearances due to their emotional turmoil. ‘We would like to be in court, but I fear that the anger that my boys and I have might just project in court when we see the people who turned our lives upside down. It’s really hard enough to read articles in the media about this case, so we take note of court outcomes from a distance. It’s just safer that way,’ Kloppers explained.
Kloppers noted that their sons have struggled with their mother’s death.
‘I try to shield the news from them, but they have cell phones, and I know they are reading about it. The youngest speaks a lot about how he misses his mother. His older brother is more like Wendy, very private, so I don’t get much out of him. But I know he is deeply affected by his mother’s death,’ he said.
A family member, who wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons, noticed Wendy’s unusual behaviour before her death.
‘She became very edgy and would get frightened at the slightest move. When I asked if everything was OK, she said, “I hope it will be”.’ the family member recalled.
The family member also mentioned that Wendy received a distressing phone call shortly before her death. ‘I asked her if she was OK because she didn’t look very happy at all after the call. Three hours later, I got a call saying she was shot dead at a construction site. She was such a lovable person.’
The City of Cape Town stated that Wendy was the regional air quality practitioner in the City’s health department and a designated environmental management inspector.
Wendy was investigating a community complaint about uncontrolled dust emissions from a Delft housing construction site when she was killed.
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Picture: Wendy Hendricks Kloppers / Facebook