Police Minister Bheki Cele and other high-ranking cops personally came to attend the first court appearance of alleged kingpin Nafiz Modack yesterday.
Streets surrounding the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court were cordoned off and heavily armed officers were seen at the high-profile appearance of the man accused of calling the botched hit on criminal attorney William Booth at his Higgovale home in April last year.
This morning, a police officer from the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) is set to appear at the Bishop Lavis Magistrates’ Court for allegedly colluding with Modack by feeding him information.
Cele, accompanied by top cops including Major-General Jeremy Vearey sat in the courtroom as Modack, along with Jacques Cronjé and Ricardo Morgan, was brought to the dock.
According to the charge sheet, the trio is accused of kidnapping Sameer Valley in March last year and trying to extort over R500 000 from him, later forcing him to transfer R90 000.
The state also alleges that Modack and Morgan were part of the conspiracy to kill Booth.
The trio’s arrest at Century City last Thursday came a week after three other suspects in the Booth matter entered into a plea deal with the state and were sentenced.
In another set of charges, Modack is accused of attempted murder, reckless driving and resisting arrest when he was nabbed by the Hawks last week.
The case was postponed to Friday and the trio will remain in custody at the Bellville SAPS.
Modack was not charged with the murder of AGU commander Charl Kinnear, as stated by the Hawks shortly after his arrest.
Outside court, reporters asked Cele why the Hawks retracted their initial statement about Modack being arrested for Kinnear’s murder, and he promised an arrest was imminent.
“We are here today to see the three guys and there will be other guys that will be added,” he said.
“There will be a charge and some of these guys will join that charge. The charge of murder [of] Lieutenant-Colonel [Kinnear] is coming; that is definitely on the way,” said Cele.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Modack will appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrates’ Court today.
According to a source, a sergeant stationed at AGU was arrested at his Elsies River home over the weekend for allegedly colluding with a suspect in a grenade attack on Kinnear’s home several months before his murder at his Bishop Lavis home last September.
During court proceedings in the case of the suspect, Amaal Jantjies, last week, the prosecutor claimed Jantjies colluded with Modack to corrupt the sergeant into giving them information.
Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale says: “It is reported that the suspect was arrested during an intelligence-driven operation conducted by the National Task Team investigating gang-related activities, National Intervention Unit and Tactical Response Team.
“It's alleged that the suspect has between 2019 and 2020 enticed by an underworld figure to infiltrate the Anti-Gang Unit and supply them with information relating to operations of the underworld figure in return for gratification.
“The suspect will be charged with corruption together with three accomplices.”
monique.duval@inl.co.za