A suspect’s exposure to Covid-19 and conflict of interest relating to a legal representative have suspended a bail application in which critical claims against a top police officer and his colleagues have been made.

The bail application of Amaal Jantjies, which began in the Parow Regional Court in Cape Town on Friday, 11 December was meant to resume on Monday, December 14.

However, it emerged that one of her two co-accused, Janick Adonis, had been exposed to Covid-19 in prison and was in quarantine. The prison was not disclosed.

Jantjies, Adonis and Farez Smith face charges including conspiracy to commit murder and procuring explosives. 

Smith and Adonis, who has been sentenced in another matter, are not applying for bail. 

On Friday, Jantjies testified that the head of the Western Cape’s Anti-Gang Unit (AGU), Major-General André Lincoln, had wanted her and Adonis to help set up a hit.

She claimed the target of the hit had been threatening Lincoln and AGU member Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear. The person was not named during proceedings. 

Jantjies also claimed she had recordings of conversations with Lincoln and AGU members. These recordings were not produced in court.

Proceedings on Friday wound up while she was testifying about this.

On Monday, it emerged that Theresa Ruiters, the legal representative of Jantjies and Adonis, was withdrawing due to a conflict of interest. 

“I know [Adonis’s] version. If I stay on record for [Adonis], am I going to use his version at some stage against [Jantjies]?” she said during the brief proceedings.

The two, therefore, needed new legal representation, and Smith still needed an attorney.

The bail application was postponed to January 2021.

This has left proceedings hanging, with the serious claims Jantjies has made against Lincoln and AGU members unchallenged by the State.

Daily Maverick previously reported that, in a letter of complaint to his bosses in December 2018, Kinnear had said certain police officers, some with ties to crime intelligence, were working to frame him and his close colleagues.

He had also complained that some crime intelligence-linked officers were aligned to criminal suspect Nafiz Modack, who Kinnear had been investigating.

Modack and several police officers were arrested in June 2020 on firearm-related charges.

This matter was being investigated by police officers including Lincoln and Kinnear.

Kinnear was assassinated outside his Bishop Lavis home in Cape Town on 18 September 2020.

It was previously reported that Smith had been arrested outside Kinnear’s home on 23 November 2019, allegedly in possession of a grenade.

A protection detail was assigned to Kinnear at the time because he was investigating high-profile crimes involving underworld suspects and police officers.

The month after the grenade incident, this protection was withdrawn.

Daily Maverick previously reported that Lincoln had said it was the AGU that had tried to protect Kinnear, but this protection was withdrawn over the 2019 festive season because of a need to deploy members elsewhere. 

Zane Kilian, who is charged in connection with Kinnear’s murder, was meant to have applied for bail last week.

However, his possible exposure to Covid-19 also delayed proceedings, which may start this week. DM