Cape Town - Alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack and former rugby player Zane Kilian have now officially been charged with the murder and conspiracy to commit murder of Anti-Gang Unit Commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear.
Ricardo Morgan was named as the third accused in a Hawks statement. Morgan was granted R50 000 bail while Modack and Killian will remain behind bars.
Modack, Kilian Jacques Cronje, Ricardo Morgan and AGU member Ashley Tabisher made an appearance at the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court this morning.
Two other accused, Amaal Jantjies and Janick Adonis, are also listed on a 52-page charge sheet.
Jantjies has her own bail application running at the Parow Regional Court, while Adonis is serving a sentence for a separate case.
The court document has 63 charges.
The charges includes conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, corruption, contravention of the electronics act and money laundering.
Modack appeared in high spirits on the morning of Eid and was placed next to Kilian in the dock.
They are listed as accused one and two.
According to court papers, Modack and Kilian are charged with the murder and conspiracy to commit murder of Kinnear, who was assassinated outside of his home in Bishop Lavis in September last year.
They are the only two facing the murder charge.
Modack's lawyer, Dirk Uys, made a noise he did not receive the summary of the State's case to prepare him for a bail application.
Morgan, who handed himself over to police on April 30, said via an affidavit read by his attorney, Bruce Hendricks, he was a car salesperson and denied having any involvement in the conspiracy to commit murder of Kinnear and advocate Williams Booth.
With two previous convictions for drugs and drunken driving, the State did not oppose his release. He was therefore granted R50 000 bail with strict conditions to report to the police station from Monday to Friday.
He complained about the “appalling conditions” inside Pollsmoor Prison, stating that prisoners had contracted Covid-19.
The matter was postponed to May 17 for the bail application of the others.
Tabisher, also via his lawyer, said he wanted a fair bail application and that he was wrongfully accused.
Kinnear’s wife, Nicolette Kinnear, and her two sons were also present at the courthouse, which was under strict police access control.
#nafizmodack supporters outside of the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court. Safia Mohamed Allie who said they came support Modack even on Eid Mubarak. @WeekendArgus @IOL pic.twitter.com/vbRBZilFUi
— Genevieve Serra (@genserra01) May 14, 2021
#nafizmodack case. Modack&Zane Kilian are now charged with the murder of AGU's Charl Kinnear.Their matter together with others has been postponed to May 17 for a bail application. Kinnear's wife, Nicolette&sons leave the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court @WeekendArgus @IOL pic.twitter.com/gMrNOUhRgh
— Genevieve Serra (@genserra01) May 14, 2021
Lieutenant-Colonel Philani Nkwalase of the Hawks released a statement about the charge of murder.
"Two of the five accused arrested in connection with an assortment of charges including attempted murder of a prominent lawyer as well as gang-related extortion, kidnapping, intimidation in the Milnerton area and corruption, were additionally charged for the murder of the top AGU detective, Lieutenant-Colonel Kinnear.
"Modack and Morgan were allegedly linked to the police killing, following the arrest of Killian. This now brings the total of three suspects charged for the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Kinnear, who was assassinated outside his home in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, on September 18, 2020.
"It is further reported that the alleged underworld figure Modack was also charged with attempts to murder Kinnear in the days leading up to a failed hand grenade attack at Kinnear’s home on November 23, 2019.
"Modack also faces a charge of corruption along with AGU Sergeant Ashley Tabisher for allegedly offering him R10 000 in exchange for information on police operations against him (Modack). They further worked in concert with Amaal Jantjies to infiltrate the AGU, while Jantjies was also charged for the failed hand grenade incident.
"The acting national head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili, lauded the team for not leaving any stone unturned in the on-going investigation.
“We sincerely hope that the family will find comfort on the additional arrest as this brings us a step nearer to a closure.”
Despite the Hawks being adamant that Morgan is the third accused in Kinnear’s murder, NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the prosecutor, Advocate Blane Lazarus emphasised that ’’we are not charging Morgan with murder. Our charge charge sheet particularly from count 35 - 37 state clearly that only accused 1 & 2 (Modack and Kilian) are charged with the conspiracy to commit murder and murder of the late Lt Col Charl Kinnear.’’