Charl Kinnear assassination four years on – a trial plus ‘lies, deceit and empty promises’

‘We are left with more empty promises than answers.”

These are the words of Nicolette Kinnear, the widow of Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear.

Nicolette Kinnear, the widow of murdered anti-gang unit detective Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear, during an interview with Daily Maverick on 2 June 2022. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

Four years ago, a gunman walked up to the car that Kinnear was seated in and opened fire on him.

Kinnear died on 18 September 2020 in the driver’s seat of the car he had parked outside his home in the Cape Town suburb of Bishop Lavis.

His assassination exposed deep distrust within the South African Police Service (SAPS), especially among officers in the Western Cape, the country’s gang violence capital.

Read more: Hawks officers did nothing to prevent Charl Kinnear assassination, should be criminally charged – SAPS watchdog

Daily Maverick previously reported that at least four reports – one from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) and three from within SAPS – were prepared concerning what happened to Kinnear.

Ipid’s findings pointed to several police officers having failed to carry out their duties to protect Kinnear, who was under threat and whose location was being illegally monitored via his cellphone in the runup to his murder.

Read more: ‘Kinnear case officer went over and above duties’ — Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya hits back

A section of the Ipid report, had, for example, stated that two officers attached to the Hawks “acted unlawfully and criminally” in failing to act on information they had, and this “resulted in the killing of the late Lieutenant Colonel Kinnear”.

But Hawks’ head Godfrey Lebeya, via national Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, had countered that there appeared to be “some level of ignorance” about investigation methods.

‘It’s heartbreaking’

On Tuesday, 17 September 2024, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Kinnear’s killing, Nicolette Kinnear told Daily Maverick: “It’s heartbreaking to know, as clearly stated in the Ipid report, that my husband’s death could have been prevented if certain members and their commanders were not negligent and just did their jobs.”

Read more: ​​Ipid tells AfriForum it will legally confront top cop Fannie Masemola’s ‘inaction’ over 2020 Kinnear murder

About two months ago, Daily Maverick reported that Ipid said it would follow legal processes to deal with “the inaction of the National Commissioner” – presumably Fannie Masemola – over issues relating to Kinnear’s assassination.

National Commissioner of the South African Police Service General Fannie Masemola addresses a media briefing at Imbizo Media Centre GCIS in Cape Town on 13 April 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

In response, national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the matter remained a priority and “due to [its] sensitivity … and the fact that this is the subject of pending critical proceedings … the SAPS will therefore not be in a position to deliberate on this matter in the public domain.”

‘Lies and deceit’

But Nicolette Kinnear is fed up.

She said police leaders often spoke about cracking down on corruption or of acting against officers who brought the SAPS into disrepute.

We still maintain that there is zero tolerance for corruption within @SAPoliceService and no officer will be spared. Job well done by the South African Police Service and the Hawks. pic.twitter.com/dicOpwZjcH

— Senzo Mchunu (@Senzo_Mchunu_) September 12, 2024

“But here we are four years later and not one member has been dealt with,” Nicolette Kinnear said, referencing Kinnear’s security matter.

She said she was sick of “lies and deceit”.

Earlier this year a group of accused, including suspected organised crime kingpin Nafiz Modack, went on trial in the Western Cape in connection with Kinnear’s killing.

Nicolette Kinnear, widow of murdered Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear, during the appearance of Nafiz Modack at the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town on 1 February 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Jaco Marais)

Read more: ‘It’s going to get ugly’ — Nafiz Modack’s lawyer says witness in Kinnear murder trial made ‘sweetheart deal’ with State

They pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against them.

But it was still not clear what happened to the gunman who actually pulled the trigger on Kinnear.

And the matter of Kinnear’s security – or the lack thereof at the time of his murder – remains an issue.

Read more: ‘I’m being persecuted’: Cop Andre Lincoln joins Labour Court disciplinary saga over Charl Kinnear’s security

Nicolette Kinnear said on Tuesday the investigating team and prosecutors involved in the high court case were doing “sterling work”.

She pointed out, however, that none of the accused on trial had been responsible for her husband being without state protection at the time of his killing.

‘Cops left vulnerable’

“Our men and women in blue – their lives just seem to not matter. They are left vulnerable.”

Read more: Danger, drama and deception — Charl Kinnear’s blueprint for his own assassination trial

Nicolette Kinnear said Kinnear had made serious complaints roughly two years before his murder that had exposed some of the dangers he was facing.

Daily Maverick previously reported that in December 2018 he had sent a critical 59-page letter of complaint to his bosses.

Nicolette Kinnear says police who are in the wrong are not victims – she emphasises that ‘my family is!’ (Photo: Gallo Images / Die Burger / Theo Jeptha)

The core of it was that certain cops in the Western Cape, some with links to Crime Intelligence, were working against him and some of his colleagues.

Ipid had indeed found that a “rogue” cop unit existed and “created further animosity amongst leadership sowing division” among the Western Cape’s police service.

Repeat scenario

Nicolette Kinnear’s frustration at waiting to hear whether anyone would be held accountable for Kinnear’s lack of security – or inaction relating to investigations showing he was under threat – has mounted over the years.

Daily Maverick has published a piece to mark each anniversary of his murder and to detail what has – or has not – happened in terms of accountability and developments in the police service relating to it.

These are as follows:

• 2021: A year after top cop Charl Kinnear’s murder, the SA Police Service is more chaotic than ever

“Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear’s assassination a year ago should have sparked a serious overhaul of the South African Police Service. Instead, the 12 months that followed the murder have been packed with ever-increasing claims of backstabbing and corruption – as well as suspicions of poisoning – among police officers.”

• 2022: Heads are yet to roll over murder of top cop Charl Kinnear

“Two years later and findings on ‘implicated’ police officers have suddenly been made ‘top secret’.”

• 2023: The assassination of cop Charl Kinnear – three years of controversy and waiting for accountability

“Detective Charl Kinnear was assassinated outside his Cape Town home on 18 September 2020. In the three years since then, issues surrounding the case have become steeped in controversy – and it is yet to be seen whether certain police officers will be held accountable for the tragedy.”

The more things change…

Nicolette Kinnear said on Tuesday that if the SAPS wanted to gain public confidence and the trust of communities, those leading it needed to accept responsibility when members failed at their duties.

She said police in the wrong were not victims – she emphasised that “my family is!”

And so, four years after Kinnear’s killing, despite extensive media coverage of the tragedy and surrounding issues, it still is not clear whether any police officer will be held to account for issues relating to the fact that he was not under protection at the time of his murder.

Over the four years there has been a change in the political leadership of South Africa with a government of national unity now in place.

Read more: Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole bows out after mutual agreement and ‘in the best interests of the country’

There has also been a change in police minister, with Senzo Mchunu taking over from Bheki Cele, and a change in national police commissioner from Khehla Sitole, who was accused of not assisting Ipid with its Kinnear investigation (which he denied), to Masemola, who Ipid seems to think has displayed “inaction” over the saga.

Meanwhile, the criminal landscape of the country has shifted, with extortion and kidnappings now posing major problems.

But it seems the more some policing and criminal situations have changed, some accountability issues surrounding Kinnear’s killing, have simply stayed the same. DM