Alleged underworld dik ding, Nafiz Modack, is between a rock and a hard place.
On Thursday, the Western Cape High Court gave him an ultimatum to appoint a lawyer in the next 20 days or settle for a Legal Aid Lawyer in order for the trial to proceed.
The alleged kingpin, accused of plotting the murder of Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) commander Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear, was given a stern warning by Judge Mark Sher who said he will not be accepting any more delays, as Modack and his co-accused are set to go on trial in January.
Modack appeared for two different cases which have now been dubbed the “Tax Matter” and the “Kinnear Matter”.
He was arrested by the Hawks three years ago, along with his mother Ruwaida and brother Yaseen, as well as former SARS employee Faried van der Schyff, Bashier Syce, Layla Bedderson, Dominique McLachlan and Kulsum van der Schyff.
The group is accused of defrauding SARS out of R46 million and face over 700 charges of racketeering, fraud, money laundering, forgery and uttering and contraventions of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act.
Modack was also charged with the murder of commander Kinnear in September 2020.
Along with several other accused, he faces over 3000 charges relating to various incidents including a grenade attack on Kinnear’s Bishop Lavis home, pinging the cellphone of Kinnear and other high-ranking cops, as well as an attempted hit on lawyer William Booth.
Last month, Modack wrote a letter to Judge Nathan Erasmus asking for help to allow consultation with mense outside the mang to help pay his legal fees.
Erasmus did not make a ruling on the matter and indicated that the reasons for the alleged refusal by the department of Correctional Services were not clear.
On Thursday, Sher was unimpressed when he was informed that both Modack and his broertjie Yaseen had not given their lawyers financial instructions.
An irritated Sher said: “You have been given many opportunities to get legal representation. Either of your choice or Legal Aid.
“Despite the directives made by previous judges, you have still not finalised your position.
“So, I am going to make an order, make an ultimatum, that you, Mr Modack, will tell the court on 29 November and your legal representatives must be present to confirm whether you will be proceeding by way of paid brief or not. You will not have a choice after that.
“If you do not indicate positively on that day that you have legal representation, paid legal representation, and it is not confirmed, then Mr Cloete will proceed on behalf of the Legal Aid Board to get Legal Aid on board.”
Modack appeared calm as he told Sher he understood.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za