Advocate Johan van Aswegen, representing murder accused Zane Kilian, brought court proceedings to a halt on Friday when he said he was withdrawing from the case due to a conflict of interest. 

“The instructing attorney Eric Bryer will continue representing the accused. I have informed the accused accordingly,” Van Aswegen said.

He did not elaborate on the information that led to his decision to withdraw but Maverick Citizen has seen a signed note indicating that the twist in the case was related to the false certificate that was handed in to the Bishop Lavis Magistrates’ Court in October 2020 by Kilian’s previous legal team. The fraudulent certificate showed that Kilian was a registered private investigator, a member of the Private Security Industry of SA and entitled to ping phones. 

On Friday, the matter was set down for continuation of Kilian’s bail application and both the prosecution and the defence were supposed to ventilate heads of arguments in the Bellville Regional Court.

In court, heavily armed task force members guarded Hawks captains investigating the matter, Edward du Plessis and Captain Pieter Joubert.

Kilian faces a charge of murder and illegal interception of a cellphone emanating from the assassination of Anti-Gang Unit Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear on Friday 18 September 2020 in front of his house in Bishop Lavis. 

Kinnear was shot dead at point-blank range by a skilled gunman. 

Kilian has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The State is arguing that Kilian pinged Kinnear’s phone from March 2020 till the day of his murder 2,408 times, which facilitated the attack.

The false certificate was handed in by Kilian’s advocate at the time, Eckhard Rosemann. However, when the prosecution discovered the certificate was false, Kilian was slapped with an additional charge of corruption.

The note – which has not been handed in to court – throws light on the fake certificate, indicating that it was believed to be authentic at the time it was handed in. Kilian’s previous legal team was under the impression it was authentic. Roseman mentioned in the document that “he would never hand any document in to court which was false”. Shortly after this drama, Rosemann withdrew from the case, which was when Van Aswegen came aboard.

Had Van Aswegen stayed on as Kilian’s representative, the contentious issue of who is to blame for handing in the false certificate could turn into a legal wrangle.

The defence team also suffered another setback when Van Aswegen visited Kilian at Goodwood Prison on Wednesday. The purpose of the visit was to get Kilian’s response to the two affidavits already handed into court by Hawks investigators.

Bryer told Maverick Citizen: “Arrangement was made with Correctional Services to allow Van Aswegen to interview Kilian. He was not allowed access to the accused and the head of arguments that was supposed to be handed in on Friday, was never finalised.”

State prosecutor Greg Wolmarans told the court that they want a definite undertaking from the defence, which must give directions as to who Kilian’s advocate will be.

Kilian  has been behind bars since his arrest on 23 September 2020. The matter will resume on Thursday, 4 March 2021. DM/MC.