Security, a main theme underpinning the assassination of detective Charl Kinnear, was tight at the Western Cape Division of the High Court on Monday when the trial of those accused of his killing and a range of other crimes began.

There was a strong police presence inside and outside the court building, with about 15 police officers in the public gallery which overlooks the courtroom.

Alleged organised crime kingpin and the main accused in the case, Nafiz Modack, pleaded not guilty to the 2017 killing of a man outside a Cape Town venue in the broader Kinnear case.

Kinnear’s assassination and issues surrounding it have triggered allegations of deep-rooted corruption within the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Among those facing criminal charges and set to go on trial alongside Modack is Ashley Tabisher, a former member of the police’s Anti-Gang Unit, which Kinnear had also worked for.

Lawyer drama

Monday’s court proceedings, which hinge on Kinnear’s murder and involve 124 criminal charges, went ahead despite Modack not having a legal representative present.

This was because he wanted a Legal Aid lawyer of his choice, which is not a service offered by the State.

Earlier in the day, Modack and another group of accused appeared in the same court in a massive tax fraud matter involving more than R46-million, which was postponed to 20 March for further pretrial proceedings. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: Inside Nafiz Modack’s multimillion-rand VAT fraud case – a family affair with his mother and brother

In the murder trial, Modack is appearing with 14 co-accused.

‘Not guilty’ vs ‘criminal enterprise’

One of those, Zane Kilian, also did not have legal representation during Monday’s proceedings, but he also wanted the matter to proceed.

“I just want to get over with this,” he told the court, over which Judge Robert Henney was presiding.

“I plead not guilty to charges of murder [and] attempted murder.”

An indictment against the group alleges that they participated in the “illegal activities of an Enterprise from approximately December 2017 until January 2021”.

On Monday, all of those who entered a plea, pleaded not guilty to being members of a criminal enterprise linked to Modack.

Relocation request

During the proceedings, Modack asked that he be moved from the Helderstroom Correctional Centre in Caledon outside Cape Town to a prison closer to the Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town, where the trial is being heard.

Judge Henney said Correctional Services staff should look into that.

Modack also asked for a light in his jail cell to enable him to read the indictment against him and his co-accused.

Proceedings are set to resume on Tuesday.

The trial commenced nearly four years after Kinnear was murdered outside his Bishop Lavis home in Cape Town in September 2020.

At the time, Kinnear was investigating several organised crime matters and colleagues suspected of creating fraudulent firearm licences for criminals.

Modack was one of the suspects he had been investigating.

Security matters

When he was killed, Kinnear should have been under the protection of a state security detail.

He was not, and investigations were launched into why that was the case when his life was clearly under threat.

While several police officers, including high-ranking bosses, were found to have failed Kinnear, it appears that none of them have been held to account.

Read more in Daily Maverick: No one had Kinnear’s back: Ipid calls for criminal charges against superiors and members of WC rogue unit

Security matters linked to Kinnear, meanwhile, have in effect come full circle.

On 12 January, Kinnear’s widow, Nicolette Kinnear, told Daily Maverick that police officers in the Western Cape had informed her that an SAPS security detail assigned to her was set to be withdrawn.

Read more in Daily Maverick: ‘Police are withdrawing my security again, despite imminent murder trial’ — slain cop Charl Kinnear’s widow

 The security detail was removed on Sunday, a day before the trial commenced. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: AfriForum’s Gerrie Nel takes Charl Kinnear case, points to SAPS ‘cover-ups’ and failures

Daily Maverick has reported that she lodged a culpable homicide complaint against SAPS officers who played a role in withdrawing Kinnear’s security ahead of his murder. DM

Daily Maverick initially reported that Nafiz Modack pleaded not guilty to Charl Kinnear’s murder. He pleaded not guilty to a man’s murder outside a Cape Town venue that happened in 2017. We apologise for the error.