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Adv. William Booth. (Jaco Marais)
- Springs-based private investigator Zane Kilian now faces charges of being involved with a Cape Town gang.
- He was arrested for the murder of Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear, but now also faces charges related to the William Booth shooting.
- He faces charges for allegedly tapping Booth’s phone and data prior to the shooting, allegedly carried out by one of his co-defendants.
Private investigator and former Springs rugby player Zane Kilian has been implicated in allegations of being part of a plot by Cape Town’s Terrible West Siders gang to kill prominent lawyer William Booth.
Kilian appeared in Cape Town Magistrates Court Tuesday in a twist in the investigation into the murder of Anti-Gang Unit detective Lt. Col. Charl Kinnear.
Kinnear was reportedly shot to death outside his home in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, on September 18.
Kilian, who said he was a registered private investigator, was arrested in Gauteng and taken to the Western Cape for the case against him.
PHOTOS | Charl Kinnear murder captured in chilling CCTV footage
Kilian faces charges of murder, fraud and violations of telecommunications and electronic communications laws in the Kinnear case.
His request for bail was due to be heard in Bellville Magistrates Court on Monday, but the new development related to the shooting at Booth’s home put it on hold until Nov. 27.
Booth is well known in Cape Town courts as a criminal defense attorney. He is also chair of the criminal law committee of the Law Society of SA.
The latest charges against Kilian stemmed from the initial analysis of a “ping list” of people whose numbers had allegedly been tracked and monitored.
Location
Kinnear’s phone is alleged to have received more than 2,000 ping messages, allegedly using location-based services.
After an analysis of the list, Kilian was added to the case in which five people have already been arrested for the attempt to shoot Booth.
The shooting was reportedly fired at Booth’s home in Cape Town on April 9, reigniting fears among lawyers following the murders of Pete Mihalik, Vernon Jantjies, David Mbazwana and Noordien Hassan.
READ | Cape Town lawyer William Booth shot in his garage, escapes unharmed
Booth was not injured in the shooting, but CCTV footage of the surrounding area was taken after that incident, and ultimately the five people were charged.
Kilian is now the sixth defendant with Kauthar Brown, Ebrahim Deare, Riyaad Gesant, Kim Smith and Igsaan Williams.
Kilian appeared in Cape Town Magistrates Court on Tuesday under heavy surveillance from the Anti-Gang Unit, whose officers wore bulletproof vests, face shields and masks, and carried rifles as they watched him after taking him to the dock. His wrists were tied in front of him and he appeared without his co-defendant.
Kilian now also faces charges of conspiracy to assassinate Booth, attempted murder of Booth, and intercepting Booth’s communications and data through his cell phone.
National Tax Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila told the media outside of court that he also faced a charge of being involved in gang activity.
Gang
Based on the state’s case so far, Brown, Deare, Gesant, and Smith are supposedly part of the Terrible West Siders.
The State contends that the Terrible West Siders fit the description of a gang in the sense that they work in groups of three or more working in a Woodstock pattern of criminal activity, and have done so for years.
The state also files charges under the Riotous Assemblies Act in connection with the alleged plot to shoot Booth.
The State alleges that Deare, Gesant, and Williams also violated the lockdown rules by not being at home or within 5 km of their home days before the shooting, as some of them carried out their alleged plot at Booth’s home. .
The alleged charges:
They do not respect the current Covid-19 regulations as they conspired to commit murder and attempted to assassinate Mr. William Booth during the national shutdown.
The State alleges that it was Brown who shot Booth.
The State also alleges that the weapon used did not have a permit or permit for five cartridges.
Kilian will be transferred from Bellville Police holding cells to Goodwood Prison.
But his attorney, Eric Bryer, said his client already had a medical appointment scheduled in the Bellville detention cells.
The bail requests related to Kilian’s Kinnear and Booth could be combined to be heard as one.
Kilian was thrown out again under heavy police guard with sirens howling and blue lights flashing as he ran through the CBD with a large crowd gathered to watch the show.
