Cape Town - The widow of slain Anti-Gang Unit commander Charl Kinnear, Nicolette Kinnear, said she is relieved that the high court dismissed the bail appeal of gang leader Nafiz Modack and his two co-accused.
Modack, his alleged “enforcer” Jacques Cronje, and police officer Ashley Deon Tabisher approached the Western Cape High Court in May last year asking it to set aside a decision made by the Blue Downs Regional Court in January last year.
The main charges against Modack are for the assassination Kinnear in September 2020, and the attempted murder of criminal lawyer William Booth in April 2020.
Passing judgment, Judge Mark Sher, who described the trio as a danger to society, said they needed to be kept inside a correctional facility, pending the outcome of their trials.
Judge Sher said the circumstances that were set out in the affidavits filed by Modack in support of his bail application did not constitute exceptional circumstances.
Judge Sher said evidence put before the magistrate demonstrated a likelihood that if the trio were to be released on bail, they would commit one or more bail violations.
She further said their release on bail would jeopardise the function of the criminal justice system and would place the integrity of the bail system in question and bring it into disrepute.
Referring to Tabisher’s appeal, Judge Sher said corrupt acts involving police officers were extremely serious and struck at the heart of the system of law and order, and that if proven would attract a heavy sentence.
Kinnear said the bail hearing process had been exhausting and with the bail judgment passed, this would afford the family a “breather” while awaiting trial dates.
Behind the scenes, she said the fight to get the “classified” report into her husband’s murder released was ongoing. Kinnear said her safety and that of her sons remained a concern.
“My husband was fighting an enemy within and on the outside, hence my kids and I are facing the same danger. But behind the scenes I’m fighting as hard as what we are fighting in court, SAPS, regarding the classification of the report.
“Modack did not instruct for the guards (who protected her hushand) to be removed, but it came from the inside. We will keep on digging until we get to the bottom of everything and people are held accountable and questions about who gave instructions to withdraw the guarding and the report being classified after it was discussed with me, are answered,” she said.
Bishop Lavis Community Police Forum’s Graham Lindhorst said they had been of the view that bail must be denied to those “kind of people” who terrorised communities in such a way that their hands were not seen as dirty.
Lindhorst said in this case they overplayed their hands.
Lindhorst said they were looking forward to the start of the trial so that the family can start getting full closure.