Three accused in a case involving a hand grenade, allegedly discovered outside the home of Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear last year, made a brief appearance in the Parow Regional Court on Friday. 

Several police officers and Kinnear’s widow Nicolette Kinnear watched and listened as the three – Faeez Smith, Amaal Jantjies and Janick Adonis – stood in the dock.

The three face charges relating to a conspiracy, explosives and possession of unlicenced firearms. 

No details about evidence in the case were divulged during the brief proceedings.

But it emerged that while Smith had abandoned his bid to apply to be released from custody on bail, Jantjies planned to proceed with a bail application.

Adonis, it was heard, had already been sentenced and would therefore not apply for bail, but was expected to be present during Jantjies’ application.

This application was expected to be heard next month.

It was not made immediately clear what Adonis had been sentenced for and when this had happened.

Nicolette Kinnear, accompanied by at least three police officers, one of whom sat next to her in the public gallery, had walked into the courtroom shortly after proceedings started.

She looked ahead at the trio in the dock.

As proceedings wrapped up, she quietly walked out the courtroom, still accompanied by the officers, and made her way out the building and then climbed into an awaiting Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) van.

Kinnear had been a member of the AGU.

He was assassinated outside his Bishop Lavis home in Cape Town on 18 September.

It was previously reported that Smith had been arrested outside Kinnear’s home on 23 November last year and that he allegedly had a grenade with him.

At the time a protection detail had been assigned to Kinnear, who was investigating high-profile crimes involving underworld suspects and police officers, and it was understood members of this security detail had foiled the alleged grenade plot.

The next month this protection had been removed from Kinnear and following his murder, there was an outcry about who had ordered this and why.

Earlier this month Daily Maverick reported that it had since emerged that AGU head Major-General Andre Lincoln had stated that the unit had undertaken to try and protect Kinnear, but this protection had been withdrawn over the festive season last year because all members had to be deployed elsewhere.

Lincoln, it emerged, had further recommended that Kinnear be transferred to Sea Point for safety reasons, but Kinnear had not wanted this.

Meanwhile, Zane Kilian, a former rugby player arrested in connection with Kinnear’s assassination, is expected to apply for bail in the Bellville Magistrates’ Court next Friday.

He is the only suspect arrested so far in connection with Kinnear’s murder. DM