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By Shanice Naidoo 
12h ago
Cape Town – A veil of secrecy surrounds the fatal shooting of the Anti-Gang Unit section commander, Lt. Col. Charl Kinnear, who was killed outside his home in Bishop Lavis.
The 52-year-old man had been working on several high-profile investigations and was the investigating officer in an extortion case involving suspected underworld figures Nafiz Modack and Colin Booysen, the murder case of motorcyclist Tim Lotter and the case of the murder of Cape Town lawyer. Pete Mihalik.
Kinnear was under police protection until December 19 of last year.
At a press conference outside Kinnear’s home yesterday, police spokesman Brigadier Novela Potelwa declined to comment on why the protection detachment had withdrawn.
Mayco Community Safety member JP Smith said: “No person is safe. If SAPS staff cannot be protected, how can the community be protected? “
The photographs showed the body of the police officer in the driver’s seat of a white Toyota Corolla. He appeared to have been shot through the window, which was smashed.
A statement by the national police spokesman, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, said that Kinnear’s work had resulted in multiple arrests.
National Commissioner General Khehla John Sitole expressed outrage.
“General Sitole has tasked Lt. Gen. Yolisa Matakata’s Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape to immediately launch the 72-hour activation plan.
“This is a plan to mobilize critical departments including criminal intelligence, forensic experts, the Hawks and tactical units to ensure that evidence or information that could aid in the successful investigation of this case is not lost,” Naidoo said.
“We are all saddened by this tragic and untimely loss of Colonel Kinnear and his assassination is a great loss to South
Africa and its people, ”Naidoo added.
The street Kinnear lived on was cordoned off and neighbors were reluctant to speak to the media.
It is speculated that Kinnear may have been the victim of a “coup”, but this has not been confirmed. The Hawks are investigating the matter.
Potelwa said Kinnear was shot multiple times in the upper body and certified dead by paramedics.
“He investigated several high-profile cases in the Western Cape and had over 30 years of experience as a police officer,” Potelwa said.
Western Cape Major General Jeremy Vearey, who worked alongside Kinnear at AGU, said Friday he was not in a position to comment on the matter.
Earlier this year, Kinnear’s wife, Nicolette, told Independent Media that she feared her family would be shot after police protection was removed. She said her worst fears were confirmed on November 23 when police guarding her home detained a suspect in possession of a hand grenade in front of her home in January.
“A week before the (January) attack, the existence of the list of victims came to light and we were immediately placed under 24-hour police surveillance. You don’t sleep and the slightest noise wakes you up, ”Kinnear’s wife said at the time.
Their path was cordoned off and the police told them that they had to wait for the bomb squad to arrive. Police first arrested Faeez Smith outside Kinnear’s home and then arrested a second suspect, Amaal Jantjies. The couple faced one count of conspiracy to commit murder.
Nicolette said the police officers guarding her home had been removed on December 19. She alleged that police management had not consulted the family about the decision.
“I feel disappointed and betrayed that we are in this space because my husband is doing his job,” she said earlier this year. “Our family is no longer protected and I don’t think these people realize what it does to a mother to see her children freeze to the sound of broken glass or gunshots on television.
“My husband was trained to fall to the ground if our house was shot and how to deal with dangerous situations.”
Smith said: “He was a father and a husband. My deepest condolences to his family. This shows how brave these attackers have become. It can’t be business as usual, something dramatic must happen. “
Mayor Dan Plato condemned the shooting. “It was shocked that I learned of the murder of South African Police Service detective Charl Kinnear today. Kinnear took pride in his duties and conducted his investigations without fear or favor. I send my condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones ”.
Kinnear’s murder came just a day after an off-duty police officer was shot within meters of his four children in Khayelitsha.
Colonel Athlenda Mathe said 35 SAPS members died in service during the last financial year.
Argus weekend
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