The man accused of assisting alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack kill Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) detective, Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear, has lashed out at his legal representatives.
Zane Kilian had those present in the Western Cape High Court laughing as he accused one of his lawyers of being gesuip during consultations, as he revealed a sinister plot to protect Modack after Kinnear was shot dead in Bishop Lavis in September 2020.
The father of two and former rugby player from Springs has dropped several bombshells as his legal team brought a new bail application ahead of his trial next year.
Kilian along with Modack and others are facing a plethora of charges, including murder, attempted murder and racketeering relating to Kinnear’s murder.
On Monday he told the court he was introduced to Modack through another debt collector in 2020. He said Modack asked him to assist with debt collections and to ping the numbers of various individuals using a platform run by State witness, Bradley Goldblatt.
After his arrest, he was brought to Cape Town where he was put in contact with his former lawyer Eric Bryer, allegedly through Modack.
Kilian said Bryer warned him not to implicate Modack in the pinging of Kinnear’s cellphone and instead told him to blame a Mr Mohammed, “or he would have to pick coffins for himself and his family”.
Fearing for his life, he said he lied to cops but later came clean and fingered Modack.
During cross-examination, Kilian said he was ill-advised by Bryer, who never informed him that he was able to take the stand and testify at his bail hearings.
He explained that had he not feared for his life, he would have cooperated with the Hawks from the start.
Kilian explains: “I am not a legal expert. I was scared. I don’t know what will happen when I go back to prison. I was just thinking of staying alive.”
He claimed that he was also warned not to change lawyers.
He adds: “My ex-wife was in contact with Mr Bryer and I told her to get a proper person and that is when the threats...came in, that if you change your legal representation, we will put bullets in their cars.”
He said Bryer stopped representing him when he had stopped receiving funds and he was later represented by Eckhard Rosemann.
“In the two or three times he [Rosemann] came to consult with me, he should have been arrested for drunk driving,” he said as laughter erupted in the court.
Warned not to taint legal representatives, Kilian insisted that it happened and it was not made-up.
He also lashed out at his third lawyer, Johann van Aswegen, saying he billed Kilian’s family nearly R400 000 “for a useless affidavit that amounted to nothing”.
Meanwhile, Modack is set to return to court today where he faces his own legal battles.
Earlier this month, Modack was warned by Judge Mark Sher that if he does not have a legal representative by today, the court would appoint a Legal Aid lawyer for him.
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