Nafiz Modack charged with murder of top detective Charl Kinnear

Alleged underworld boss Nafiz Modack has been charged with the murder of anti-gang unit officer Lt-Col Charl Kinnear.

Modack appeared in the Blue Downs regional court on Friday.

He faces the same charges as former rugby player Zane Killian in that he allegedly intercepted Kinnear's cellphone data and that of several others, including Cape Town lawyer William Booth and mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith, to pinpoint their location. 

He also allegedly pinged the phones of police, including Western Cape detective boss Maj-Gen Jeremy Vearey and anti-gang unit boss Lt-Gen André Lincoln, along with other anti-gang unit members.

The state also alleges that he and Killian pinged the cellphones of his underworld rival, Jerome “Donkie” Booysen and his son Joel.

He is also charged with pinging the cellphone of alleged gang boss Ralph Stanfield.

Modack and Killian are charged with five other accused, who the state alleges operated as an enterprise under the banner of Cape Town street gang the Junky Funky Kids.

The state alleges that Modack also plotted a November 2019 hand grenade attack against Kinnear and the attempted murder of Booth in April 2020.

The case has already unravelled the role of some anti-gang unit members in the alleged hand grenade plot, which led to the arrest of anti-gang unit Sgt Ashley Tabisher.

Tabisher's lawyer Bruce Hendricks submitted to the court on Friday that Tabisher believed he was being made the fall guy in an elaborate saga which emanated during the grenade plot.

He alleged that several anti-gang unit members were in meetings to discuss the plot,  including Kinnear himself, as an attempt to trap Modack.

He is, however, charged with corruption after allegedly accepting a R10,000 payment from Amaal Jantjies in exchange for giving information to Modack about future raids.

The state charge sheet said that Lincoln and several other members of the anti-gang unit received help from Jantjies and her lover Jannick Adonis in obtaining information on guns and drugs.

This was while Adonis was on trial in the Khayelitsha magistrate's court for attempted murder and was incarcerated at Pollsmoor Prison.

It would appear, however, that Adonis had several meetings at the anti-gang unit's base during this time.

Jantjies would allege that the quid pro quo for her and her boyfriend's assistance would result in either a reduced sentence or a successful bid for bail.

The case was postponed until Monday for the defence to bring a bail application.

Lawyers for the accused, who included Modack's alleged enforcer Jacques Cronje,  complained to the court that the rights of their clients were being disregarded as they were not being handed the particulars of the charges against them to consider for consultation.

They complained that their clients had been kept behind bars for 14 days without being able to apply for bail while the state brought more charges and remanded the cases against several individuals to consolidate the charges.

But state prosecutor Blaine Lazarus said the sheer number of charges brought against the accused in the 52-page charge sheet had taken some time to prepare.

The fourth accused in the case, Ricardo Morgan, was freed on R50,000 bail and faces charges of fraud and money laundering.

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