CAPE TOWN - The legal counsel of murder accused and alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack want evidence to be declared inadmissible. They say it is “hearsay” and aimed at linking him to multiple crimes.
This week, Modack’s counsel submitted their heads of argument in the application to the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court where Modack and his co-accused – Zane Killian, Jacques Cronje and Ashley Tabisher – continue to pursue their bail applications.
Another co-accused, Ricardo Morgan, is out on R50 000 bail.
The application was brought to the court to declare “inadmissible and to disregard specified and itemised portions of the information” placed before the court in the State’s opposition to bail.
“A consideration of the conspectus of information placed before this Honourable Court by the State, makes it clear that the pivotal building block of the body of information is the State’s attempt to place in front of this Honourable Court that seeks to establish the nature and strength of the State’s case against (Modack),” the application says.
“It is submitted that the State seeks to link Modack to the perpetration of a multiplicity of crimes by means of indirect evidence, inference, lay opinions, speculation, hearsay evidence and inadmissible evidence.”
The evidence includes voice and video recordings, text messages and WhatsApp text exchanges which, the State says, implicates Modack for his alleged role in a plot to murder top cop Charl Kinnear last year and a failed hand grenade attack at the slain cop’s home in 2019.
Modack’s counsel, Danie Dörfling, submitted that the State’s arguments “are fatally flawed”.
“It goes without saying that it would be extremely unfair if this court was to consider information that impacts on the court’s decision whether or not Modack should be granted bail, in circumstances where the State has not demonstrated that it will be able to adduce this information as evidence during the trial.
“If this information was to be accepted for purposes of this court’s consideration, it would mean that Modack may be deprived of bail based on information that can never form part of the State’s case during the trial,” Modack’s counsel submitted.
Dörfling said the evidence the State wished to submit, contained a “multitude of opinions” by police officers, which was often of a “speculative nature” as the officers had an agenda to keep Modack behind bars. That “places a serious question mark over the reliability of this evidence”.
He cautioned the court not to rubberstamp the opinions of the officers if they were to accept the evidence submitted by the State.
Modack and his co-accused are expected back in court on Friday, when the State is expected to present its arguments.
Cape Times