A year after the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel André Kay in front of his home in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, on 14 November 2019, no one has been arrested. 

Kay, attached to the provincial Firearms, Liquor and Second-Hand Goods Unit, lived close to slain Anti-Gang-Unit section commander Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear.

Kim Kay, Kay’s niece, said the family was saddened that no arrests had been made and that the family still had no idea why he was killed or who was behind his murder.

“For 365 days we were clueless. I just feel that as a family we are stuck. There are just no answers. Police officers sacrifice their lives while on duty and when they are gone one at least expects the same service from those in authority to the family members,” she said.

The murders of Kay, Kinnear, who was assassinated outside his home in Bishop Lavis on 18 September 2020, as well as that of Hermanus top detective Warrant Officer Carl de Does, gunned down in the early hours of 18 November 2017, all had one thing in common: their assassins knew exactly where and when to kill them.

Kay was reversing his car out of his driveway at around 6.30am on 14 November 2019 when a gunman, who had waited for him, walked up to his car and fired several bullets into the vehicle.

SAPS forensic investigators found 10 cartridges on the scene, of which five were inside the car. Nothing was taken from the car, cancelling out robbery as a motive and leaving investigators to conclude that his murder was a precision hit.

It is thought that Kay was assassinated in a case of mistaken identity. Kinnear had been known by colleagues as “Colonel K” and the assassins may have targeted the wrong man.

Investigators are attempting to join the dots to establish a pattern in all of the murders.

In December 2019 a suspect was taken in for questioning in connection with Kay’s murder but later released. 

At the time, Hawks spokesperson Philani Nkwalase said: “The person that was taken in for questioning was cleared as he was not linked to the crime.”

Kinnear was killed in similar fashion when he pulled up in front of his house and the hitman walked up to his car and fired several shots, fatally wounding him. 

De Does, shot in 2017, was reportedly moonlighting at the time, escorting a truck transporting abalone to Cape Town International Airport. A private car with blue lights drew up to his vehicle and fired several shots, fatally wounding De Does.

Who it was that gave the order to silence Kinnear to halt his investigation exposing rotten police officers within the SAPS and their ties with the underworld remains a mystery.

A former Crime Intelligence officer, now working abroad, said all these murders had the markings of cellphones being tracked. 

“Another case to be put under the microscope is the incident that happened on 9 February 2016 at a biker rally at a Hawston camping site. A gunman opened fire on acting Hermanus station commander Colonel Rounita Burgess and other occupants in a car.

“Burgess was shot in the head and after an emergency operation miraculously survived. The same cannot be said about her 18-year-old daughter, Randy, and a friend, Rudi Salo, who died,” said the officer.

The CI officer added he believed the 28s gang in Hawston, who at the time controlled the unlawful harvesting and smuggling of abalone, were behind the apparent hit on Burgess. 

“It is common knowledge that corrupt cops in Hermanus are working with the 28s gang,” he said.

A 26-year-old suspect was arrested in connection with the Burgess shooting but was later released. 

Police said the suspect was released because there was not sufficient evidence to charge him with the murders and attempted murder.

All in all, three top detectives have been murdered and silenced and a station commander survived an attempted murder and there have been zero arrests.

In the case of Kinnear, the Hawks arrested former rugby player and private investigator Zane Kilian and charged him with murder, conspiracy to murder and the unlawful interception of communication.

This was on the basis that Kilian had pinged Kinnear’s phone 2,116 times before he was assassinated. 

Who it was that gave the order to silence Kinnear to halt his investigation exposing rotten police officers within the SAPS and their ties with the underworld remains a mystery.

Another ex-policeman in Gauteng has also been linked to the pinging of cellphones and will take the stand for the State against Kilian. 

The former policeman allegedly also pinged the phone of other “high flyers” and Kilian’s lawyer has expressed puzzlement as to why the ex-policeman has not been charged with the unlawful interception of communication, at the very least. DM/MC