Charl Kinnear paid with his life to keep us safer, says premier Winde

A senior Cape Town detective who was murdered on Friday put his life on the line to make communities safer, Western Cape premier Alan Winde said on Saturday.

“That life has now been taken,” said Winde in a tribute to Lt-Col Charl Kinnear, 52, an anti-gang unit section commander who was shot several times outside his Bishop Lavis home.

“This is a very sad moment for Lt-Col Kinnear’s family and friends, the police service, and for our province. This was a man committed to fighting against the highest and most insidious criminals in our communities, a man who put his life on the line to make us safer.”

Winde welcomed the announcement by national police commissioner Khehla Sitole of the activation of a 72-hour plan under the leadership of provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Yolisa Matakata. “They must now work to swiftly arrest the perpetrators of this heinous crime, and ensure they are brought to justice,” he said.

“We do understand the difficulties, but all effort needs to be made now to overcome those difficulties and to bring about lasting positive change. Let Charl Kinnear’s life not be lost in vain.”

Winde said Kinnear was working on a number of high-profile cases involving some of the province’s top gang bosses.

“I am extremely disappointed that such a crime could have been committed,” he said.

“This fully underscores in my mind the shift needed in our police service. We need more police, more protection for our police, and more protection for our people.

“I call on the national government — on President Cyril Ramaphosa and the national minister of police, Bheki Cele — to arrest the further decline of our police service by investing in its numbers, and in its institutional strengthening, without delay.”

Cele was in Cape Town on Saturday to be briefed on the investigation into Kinnear's murder before visiting the scene of the shooting.

On Thursday, Cele met Western Cape community safety MEC Albert Fritz and City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith to discuss extortion of Cape Town businesses by organised crime organisations.

Fritz joined Winde on Saturday in condemning the murder of Kinnear and extending his condolences to the detective's family.

“We will assign resources from our watching brief unit to monitor any eventual cases that are brought to bear, to ensure they move effectively through the criminal justice system, and that perpetrators are brought to book,” he said.

“The police and the Hawks must shine a light onto the dark, criminal underworld that exists in this country, and act against its leaders and the corrupt system that enables it.”

After visiting the scene of Kinnear's murder, Cele was expected to go to Khayelitsha to visit the family of Sgt Thabile Mapona, who was shot and killed on Thursday morning after dropping his wife at a taxi rank. Mapona was off-duty at the time.

TimesLIVE

PODCAST | The killing of Charl Kinnear: a community demands justice

Subscribe for free episodes: iono.fm | Spotify | Player.fm | Pocket Casts