Nafiz Modack convicted of corruption — trial for multiple murders continues

9 Jun 2025

In 2011, alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack paid a corrupt, high-ranking police official to recover his vehicles using state resources. Nearly 14 years later, the top cop’s plea agreement was used to convict Modack of corruption charges.

Alleged underworld figure Nafiz Modack has been acquitted on charges before, but for the first time on Friday, 6 June 2025, he was convicted by a court on corruption charges.

The corruption occurred in 2011, and nearly 14 years later, thanks to a plea agreement by former Brigadier Kolindhren Govender, a court could convict Modack. Several cases, including the murder of late Anti-Gang Unit Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear, remain to be resolved.

Govender entered into a plea and sentencing agreement on 2 December 2019 and pleaded guilty to 51 counts of corruption and a count of contravening the South African Police Service Act.

Among the reasons that this case took so long to resolve was that some of the final witnesses testified only last year. According to investigators, since Modack has been behind bars since April 2021, he no longer poses a threat to or can intimidate witnesses.

The central point of this corrupt relationship was that Govender instructed police officers under his command to recover missing vehicles belonging to Modack.

On Monday, 9 June, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said police recovered vehicles, including two exotic vehicles, which were handed over to Modack without following due process. The NPA did not comment on how many vehicles were recovered through the corrupt scheme.

None of the recovered vehicles, he added, were processed through SAPS records, nor were any police dockets or inquiries opened and registered in any of the incidents.

At the time of the offence, Modack was the sole owner of the businesses AMG Auto and Peuxon Properties.

Court papers dating back to the time of the corruption said: “In and during November 2011 Brigadier Govender commenced accepting gratification from Modack. Regular payments in a total of R146,600 were paid to Govender in return for special treatment and favours.”

Govender pleaded guilty to 51 charges of corruption that relate to a corrupt relationship he had with Modack. He was handed five years’ imprisonment, of which four-and-a-half years were suspended. The sentence was ordered to run concurrently with the six-year sentence that was handed down on a different matter.

Payments for special treatment

Senior State prosecutor advocate Louis van Niekerk successfully argued that Brigadier Govender received R146,000 from the two firms’ accounts between November 2011 and August 2013. Van Niekerk also contended that the 51 payments Modack made had no legitimate purpose.

He stated: “Modack made regular payments to Brigadier Govender as a high-ranking South African Police Service (SAPS) member in return for special treatment and favours. Police were not allowed to do private work or preferential work for members of the public.

“Members of the public were not allowed to reward members of the SAPS. Modack never gave statements for any of the recovered vehicles. There were no statements by the arresting officer. There were no SAP13 recordings. No dockets were registered. His version was that they were his vehicles,” Van Niekerk explained.

The court concluded that, given the evidence in totality, Modack was guilty of corruption relating to the recovery of motor vehicles. The case has been postponed until 8 July 2025 for Modack’s sentencing.

Murder charges

In another case, Modack is on trial for a range of charges, including multiple murders and attempted murders.

He was arrested in April 2021 in connection with the murder of Kinnear. Kinnear was assassinated outside his house in Bishop Lavis in September 2020. At the time of his demise, he was investigating Modack.

Modack and former rugby player and debt collector Zane Kilian are the two main accused in Kinnear’s assassination. The State contends that they also conspired in an attempt to murder lawyer William Booth in April 2020.

In that case, Modack and Kilian, with the other accused, are collectively facing 124 charges, including murder, attempted murder, corruption, gangsterism, extortion, the illegal interception of communications, money laundering and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

Modack and his co-accused pleaded not guilty to the charges in January 2024.

In March 2024, a State witness, who can be referred to only as “Mr A” to protect his identity, implicated Modack as the person who allegedly ordered a hit on Nicolaas Heerschap, the father of Hawks officer Nico Heerschap. He said Modack told him he was proud of the hit.

In January 2025, Western Cape High Court Judge Robert Henney dismissed several charges against Modack and his 14 co-accused, but not the principal charges of murder and attempted murder.

Another pending case against Modack, his wife Rehana, and police officers is firearm licence fraud, which will be heard in Gauteng.

In addition, Modack also faces charges in a massive tax fraud case involving more than R46-million, and his mother is allegedly the criminal enterprise’s manager.

Investigators told Daily Maverick that once all these cases had been concluded, Modack would be apprehended in connection with a probe into R50-million vehicle and property asset finance corruption.

Another cop in Modack’s web

Modack had an alleged corrupt association with other police officers before Govender. Former AGU Sergeant Ashley Tabisher lost his job as a result of this alleged corrupt relationship with Modack.

Tabisher faces charges of corruption for allegedly warning Modack about Anti-Gang Unit operations. It is alleged Tabisher received R10,000 from co-accused Amaal Jantjies. He was eventually released in December last year. Tabisher intends to bring an application to be acquitted on all charges.

Furthermore, evidence presented in the Kinnear murder trial heard in the Western Cape High Court in April suggested that Modack was allegedly deceived by a middleman while trying to bribe former top cops Major General Jeremy Vearey and the late Kinnear.

Modack’s bank statements reveal that he made R600,000 in payments that he allegedly thought would go to Vearey and Kinnear. The payments were made for the return of his firearms that had been confiscated by the Anti-Gang Unit in 2017.

Modack did not receive the confiscated firearms and Vearey, who had no involvement in the bribery scheme, did not receive a cent as Modack had apparently been duped by a middleman. DM

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Payments for special treatment

Murder charges

Another cop in Modack’s web