Former Falcons rugby player Zane Kilian appeared briefly in a Cape Town court yesterday on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful interception of communication in the connection with the killing of top Western Cape policeman Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear last week.
The murder is alleged to be have been an organised ‘hit’. Kinnear was reportedly involved in various high-profile investigations.
Thirty-nine-year-old Kilian, who was arrested in Gauteng on Wednesday and questioned extensively, was reportedly involved in tracking Kinnear’s movements via cellphone-call tracing, with some reports suggesting his role might have been unwitting. He will be held in custody until his next appearance on October 5.
Kinnear, 52, a top detective with the Anti-Gang Unit, was assassinated outside his home in Bishop Lavis in Cape Town last Friday. IOL reported that he had been working on a number of high-profile cases involving some of the province’s top gang bosses.
Kinnear was reportedly central to several probes in the underworld and was investigating alleged underworld figures Nafiz Modack and Colin Booysen. He was also working on the murder cases of biker boss Tim Lotter and Cape Town advocate Pete Mihalik. Some reports said his investigation included possible collusion with criminals by senior police officers.