Zane Kilian. Picture: Mahira Duval.
Cape Town - The man accused of accumulating the information to carry out the murder plot on slain Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) senior detective Charl Kinnear was nothing but a pawn used by alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack.
Zane Kilian shocked the Western Cape High Court yesterday when he dropped several bombshells about the death of Kinnear as his legal team brought a new bail application ahead of his trial next year.
While Kilian has already lost a bail application in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court and a subsequent appeal in the high court, he appeared confident as he walked into court sporting a grey beard and carrying two thick lever-arch files filled with documentation.
Kilian, along with Modack and a large group of suspects, is facing a plethora of charges including murder, attempted murder, racketeering and others relating to Kinnear’s death.
The former rugby player and father from Springs boldly took to the stand and handed over one of his evidence files to Judge Mark Sher as he dropped various bombshells, including alleged threats on the lives of his family.
Addressing the court, he explained that he was introduced to Modack through another debt collector between January and February 2020. He said Modack asked him to assist with debt collections and he agreed, as well as to “ping” the numbers of various individuals using a platform run by State witness Bradley Goldblatt.
He said Modack alleged that Kinnear was a corrupt police official allegedly working with Sexy Boys gang boss Jerome “Donkie” Booysen.
He said he was given various cellphone numbers and asked to ping them, as these individuals allegedly wanted to kill Modack. He was shown footage of doors being kicked down at Modack’s home and his dog being shot. He said he was once asked to ping the numbers of Kinnear and “Donkie” at the same time and confirmed they were in the same vicinity.
He explained that pings do not give a precise location but an approximate, which could mean that “Donkie” was perhaps being surveilled by Kinnear. He also said he had tracking reports to show that Kinnear’s number was pinged by several users on the platform, yet only he was arrested.
WhatsApp conversations shown to the judge between Kilian and Modack reveal that despite requesting pings, Modack already knew on one occasion that Kinnear was home alone. This he said was an indication that Kinnear was being followed in person while he was in Springs.
Kilian said he became scared when he realised Donkie’s phone started pinging in Brakpan, near his son’s school, and found that Kinnear’s phone was pinging in Springs near his daughter’s school.
Kilian also said that along with his father, a retired police officer, they investigated Kinnear’s murder and obtained evidence he would present at trial. He criticised the police for never releasing a picture of the video footage of the shooter in exchange for a reward, as with the deaths of other officers. He said while the State was ready to take the matter to trial, police had never arrested the shooter.
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
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