Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has upped its ‘City-official killer’ bounty to R1 million through the assistance of a private donor.
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced that the City of Cape Town had increased its bounty of R100 000 to R1 million to intensify efforts to find and punish the person or persons believed to be behind the fatal shooting of one of its officials at a housing site in Delft.
The tragic incident on February 16 allegedly saw unidentified persons shoot and kill City of Cape Town official Wendy Kloppers, who was reportedly at the Delft Symphony Way housing project to inspect it.
Kloppers, who worked in the City’s Environmental Affairs Department, was one of five people attacked and seriously wounded at the Power Construction’s N2 Gateway site in just a week.
Speaking on the hefty cash-for-information increase, Geordin Hill-Lewis revealed that a private donor had approached him with a generous offer to bolster the reward.
Hill-Lewis said: “We urge those with information to come forward to see justice done for the family. We also continue to call on the South African Police Service to do whatever it takes to hunt down and find the perpetrators responsible for this violence.”
However, the City of Cape Town’s cash reward can only be granted to persons who share information that will lead to the successful prosecution of those responsible for Kloppers’ murder.
“Days before the fatal shooting, the same housing project was targeted and petrol bombed. A week prior, there was another shooting incident at the same site. While the motive for the shooting is unclear, it 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.”
“We have a clear message for the public, the Delft community, and the future beneficiaries of this housing project: help us find these thugs, and help us protect this housing project so that it is not derailed,” Hill-Lewis said.
Less than two weeks ago, City of Cape Town Human Settlements’ Mayco member Malusi Booi unveiled a plan devised by the City to tackle the increasingly insistent attacks on its housing projects across the metro.
The plan was revealed in the form of six points, which encompassed initiatives and directives by the City to work closely together with the SAPS and the NPA to ramp up efforts in arresting and prosecuting persons attacking the local municipality’s housing projects.
The plan also referenced enhancing security at the projects and increased monitoring, ensuring that more cases were being investigated by SAPS across the metro and offering monetary rewards for information.
During the unveiling, Booi said: “Members of the community may give anonymous tips, and our communities must stand with the City and law enforcement authorities. The reward amount may be upped, according to City protocols where necessary.”
He also announced that City law official resources would be used to help protect projects and teams working on the ground.
“This is a R500 million housing project for 3 300 beneficiaries, some of the most vulnerable in the metro, including from Blikkiesdorp. The City will continue to pursue our six-point plan to help reduce the incidents of violence, criminality, and extortion at our housing projects, which is threatening some R1 billion in projects.”
“Besides the R1 million reward for information to successfully prosecute the killers of our staff member, in general, we are also offering rewards of R5 000 for info leading to arrests of anyone targeting City housing projects with extortion and violence across the metro,” he said.
The City of Cape Town also maintained its call to action, for communities across the city to support it in its efforts to serve them.
nomalanga.tsghuma@inl.co.za