In his latest application, Nafiz Modack says evidence gathered by Hawks investigator is hearsay

This was the crux of Modack’s latest application, filed in the Blue Downs Regional Court on Monday by his legal counsel Danie Dörfling, who queried the affidavit of Warrant Officer Trevor Shaw, and its attachments, including SMS and WhatsApp messages, and voice recordings.

Shaw’s affidavit and the attachments were successfully used in the Parow Regional Court to deny bail to Amaal Jantjies.

The affidavit sketches an alleged corrupt relationship between Modack, Jantjies and her co-accused Janick Adonis.

In his affidavit, Shaw argued the recordings and messages were purportedly used in five attempts to murder Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) section head Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear in November 2019.

The failed attempts included a petrol bomb attack and a drive-by shooting. The alleged voice recordings between Jantjies and Modack were played in Modack’s bail application in the Blue Downs Regional Court. It is the State’s contention that this evidence shows that Modack conspired with Jantjies and that he is the mastermind behind the attacks.

Modack, with co-accused Zane Kilian, is accused of murdering Kinnear on 18 September 2020. Evidence heard in court alleged that Kilian played a pivotal role in the plot by tracking Kinnear’s cellphone on 2,408 occasions and that a company linked to Modack paid Kilian R100,000.

The two are also alleged to be the main conspirators in an attempt on the life of lawyer William Booth. The pair, with c0-accused Jacques Cronje, Ricardo Morgan — out on R50,000 bail — AGU Sergeant Ashley Tabisher, Jantjies and Adonis, face an array of charges which include contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, money laundering, fraud, and contravening the Electronic Communications Act.

Dörfling argued that Modack wants the court to declare inadmissible and to disregard specified and itemised portions of the information placed before it by the State in opposition to his bail application.

“It is submitted that the State seeks to link the Applicant to the perpetration of a multiplicity of crimes by means of indirect evidence, inferences, lay opinions, speculations, hearsay evidence and inadmissible evidence,” Modack’s affidavit reads. 

Modack’s affidavit further states: “If the hearsay evidence is admitted as evidential material in the application, it may have serious consequences for him in that it will be utilised in support of an argument that the State has a strong case against the applicant.”

Dörfling also lambasted the affidavits handed in by Colonel Eddie Clark, Hawks Detective Captain Pieter Joubert and Hawks Captain Edward du Plessis — part of the national team probing Kinnear’s murder. 

The State will peruse the affidavit and present arguments on Friday, 15 October, when Modack, Kilian, Morgan, Cronje and Tabisher are due to return to court. DM/MC