Brothers jailed for hijack killing

Handcuffed and shackled for the last time in the Western Cape High Court, the Smith brothers in matching white T-shirts, were led down to holding cells to face a lengthy future behind bars.

Earlier on Tuesday Elton and Wayne Smith stood before Judge Ashley Binns-Ward as he outlined his views of the pair he has convicted of the murder of consumer psychologist and media expert Klaas Jonkheid.

While Elton Smith was convicted of the murder, among other things, his older brother was convicted of being an accessory after the fact.

On Tuesday, Judge Binns-Ward sentenced Elton Smith to life imprisonment plus 15 years for robbery with aggravated circumstances. He received a further three years for the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. Elton’s sentences are to run concurrently.

Wayne Smith was sentenced to seven years for being an accessory and six for robbery. The sentences are to run contiguously, with one year suspended, adding up to an effective 12 years.

The judge also stipulated that Wayne should only be eligible for parole after he had served at least eight years.

Before sentencing, the brothers stood stone-faced in the dock, occasionally glancing up at the public gallery.

Judge Binns-Ward said that the brothers had shown signs of antisocial behaviour early on and had experimented with drugs as adolescents. It appeared that the only reason either had sustained jobs was to secure money for drugs.

“The murder had been committed intentionally, with the aim of stealing (Jonkheid’s) money and belongings.”

Jonkheid, from Johannesburg, was attending a regional congress of the SA Marketing Research Association in 2009 when he was hijacked at or near the Spier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.

His body was found close to the scene and there had been attempts to set it alight. Personal items - including his wedding ring and cellphone - had been stolen. His hired car had also been torched.

aeysha.kassiem@inl.co.za - Cape Times