A shocking report by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has revealed how popular Cape Flats policeman Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear was let down by his own mense in the months leading up to his assassination.
More than four years after the top cop was mercilessly gunned down outside his Bishop Lavis Home the report which was once ‘Top Secret’ has finally been declassified.
The report names 10 senior cops in various units, including the Hawks, Crime Intelligence and the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU), and how they failed to secure protection for the detective who was known for tackling underworld figures in Cape Town.
The report highlights incidents reported to SAPS nearly a year before Kinnear was killed, showing there was a threat on his life.
It details the information provided by a bandiet at Helderstroom Prison, Janick Adonis, who alerted AGU about plans to murder Kinnear in November 2019.
The report lists the following officers:
Major-General Andre Lincoln. He was the former commander of AGU and directly in contact with Adonis who was brought to the AGU base to discuss the threat. Lincoln placed AGU officers outside Kinnear’s home but the officers were withdrawn due to operational requirements. Two days before the murder Lincoln was informed that Kinnear’s cellphone was being pinged excessively and the Flying Squad was instructed to patrol. However the IPID report found that no adequate follow-up was done to ensure that this instruction was actioned.
Warrant Officer Wynand Olivier and Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa from the Hawks were informed that Zane Kilian was actively pinging Kinnear’s phone.
Captain Sonandzi, who is employed in the provincial commissioner’s office, failed to open an email from Lincoln highlighting the threat on Kinnear.
Captain Robert van Aswegen who worked in the AGU control room received an anonymous call saying Kinnear would be killed. But he failed to relay the message to his commanders. The report recommends criminal prosecution for defeating the ends of justice.
The report also mentions the role of a SAPS rogue unit who allegedly operated without authorisation and recommends action against Brigadier Sanjith Hansraj, Captain Nadine Britz, Captain Alfred Barker and Warrant Officer Riedwaan Titus.
IPID also recommends that Brigadier Timothy Monyana from Crime Intelligence be charged for failing to complete the risk assessment for Kinnear.
While the report has finally been made public, it brings little solace to Kinnear’s widow, Nicolette, who says no-one has been accountable in the two years after the report was completed in 2022.
Mrs Kinnear reveals: “Warrant Officer Olivier testified in court that hubby's phone was being pinged every 30 seconds, the Hawks had more than enough proof to request a warrant of arrest. This wasn't done.
“Yet General Libeya stood up in a portfolio meeting stating he found no need for steps to be taken against his members.
“Both IPID and SAPS should stop covering each other's asses and accept accountability that their negligence in keeping my husband safe enabled his murderers to get to him.”