Text messages reveal how Col. Charl Kinnear was tracked by his assasssins

Incriminating screenshots detailing the meticulous tracking of slain Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear were unveiled in the Western Cape High Court yesterday, shedding light on the events leading up to his murder.

Kinnear was assassinated shortly after declaring his intent to expose corrupt connections between the SAPS Western Cape crime intel unit and the Cape gangs, a relationship organised by Jacob Zuma’s administration in 2011 in an effort to harm the DA-run province while gaining votes controlled by gang leaders.

In testimony in 2018, it came out that Nafiz Modack was recorded claiming he has protection from high-ranking police officials. Colonel Charl Kinnear, who was investigating clashes in Cape Town clubs, presented a recording from a meeting held on May 5, 2017. In the recording, Modack is heard stating that he collaborates with senior police officers, specifically naming Major-General Mzwandile Tiyo, the Western Cape’s head of crime intelligence, and Major-General Patrick Mbotho, the provincial head of detectives, as his protectors.

The meeting involved Major-General Jeremy Vearey and Russell Christopher, a former State Security Agency official and ANC intelligence operative.

Kinnear also highlighted another instance of Modack’s influence, referring to a meeting at the One and Only hotel with Northern Cape police commissioner Risimati Shivuri, which was witnessed by News24.

In a related incident on April 21, 2017, police seized several firearms and 202 rounds of ammunition from Modack and his associates outside a city centre strip club. Kinnear testified that a police captain involved in the seizure was later questioned by police legal services about the confiscation.

Further complicating the matter, Kinnear disclosed that in May 2017, a police colonel informed him about an urgent High Court application to return the seized weapons, which the police did not oppose due to the R22,000 cost. Kinnear revealed that this order was made by the colonel and was not an official police directive.

Taking the stand for the third consecutive day, Captain Edward du Plessis presented crucial evidence retrieved from the cellphone of Zane Kilian. The evidence allegedly links Kilian to underworld figure Nafiz Modack, highlighting a network of surveillance and communication aimed at Kinnear and his colleagues.

Du Plessis testified that during Kilian’s arrest, the Hawks Task Team discovered that while Kilian had deleted WhatsApp from his phone, investigators managed to recover a gallery of incriminating screenshots. The key evidence was found on a Samsung J4, one of three phones confiscated during the arrest.

Utilising a “ping list,” Du Plessis demonstrated the connections between the data from the screenshots and the specific times and locations where Kinnear and his colleagues were tracked. One notable instance involved Kinnear’s phone being pinged 118 times in a single day prior to his killing.

In one screenshot dated May 19, 2020, a conversation with a contact identified as “Lippe T6” included images of a guest house in Sandton. This location was believed to be where Kinnear was staying while investigating a case against Modack. The address matched a ping conducted at the same time, although the individual conducting the physical surveillance failed to locate Kinnear’s car at the guest house.

Another conversation, with a contact saved as “Nm New 2222,” revealed Kilian’s confidence that Kinnear and his team were unaware of the tracking. “Don’t think they that clever. Don’t think they know we tracking them,” Kilian wrote.

Additionally, Du Plessis presented social media screenshots showing Modack’s open affiliation with Kilian on Facebook, further cementing their connection.

The court proceedings continue as investigators delve deeper into the evidence, aiming to piece together the full extent of the conspiracy that led to the tragic death of Detective Charl Kinnear.

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