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The Bishop Lavis crime scene after Cape Town detective Lt. Col. Charl Kinnear was shot and killed.
- A man has been arrested for the murder of Cape Town detective Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear.
- The suspect will appear in Bishop Lavis Magistrates Court on Friday.
- Kinnear was shot outside his home in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, last week.
A 39-year-old suspect will appear in Bishop Lavis Magistrates Court on Friday in connection with the murder of Lt. Col. Charl Kinnear, 52.
Kinnear, who was attached to the Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit, was shot and killed outside his home in Bishop Lavis in Cape Town on Friday.
According to Hawks spokesman Brig. Hangwani Mulaudzi, the suspect was arrested in Gauteng on Wednesday and details surrounding the killing are still unknown.
“Further arrests are not ruled out as investigations are still ongoing,” Mulaudzi said.
According to Netwerk24, the suspect is a former professional rugby player from Springs in Gauteng’s East Rand.
Western Cape detectives reportedly brought him in for questioning on Tuesday night.
The 39-year-old man, the son of a retired police colonel, was apparently responsible for tracking Kinnear’s cell phone, Netwerk24 reported.
READ | We failed Charl Kinnear, Cele says as she vows to track down the killers
Daily Maverick reported that the man was expected to appear in Germiston Magistrates Court on Friday before being transferred to Cape Town.
Questioned until dawn
Sources told Netwerk24 on Wednesday that the man, who is believed to be a debt collector, was taken to a police station in East Rand, where he was interrogated until early Wednesday morning.
The man reportedly tracks cell phone signals to earn extra money, and according to him, he was misled into believing that he was tracking the signal of a jealous man’s wife. The man identified himself as “Mohamad,” reported the Daily Maverick.
The publication also reported that, a week before his death, Kinnear was in Springs to continue his investigation into alleged underworld boss Nafiz Modack. Kinnear also investigated eight high-ranking police officers accused of collusion with other officers in the Central Firearms Register.
At the time of his death, Kinnear was supposed to return to Gauteng and make further arrests of two high-ranking police officers.
Suspicious murder
The murder is suspected of being a murder, although the police have not confirmed this. They also did not want to speculate on the possible motive for the murder.
READ ALSO | Murder of Charl Kinnear: Police must explain why armed protection of anti-gang cop was withdrawn – Expert
Residents of Bishop Lavis told News24 that shots were heard around 3 p.m. Friday.
In a statement, National Police Commissioner General Khehla John Sitole said: “We are all saddened by this tragic premature loss of Colonel Kinnear and his assassination is a great loss for South Africa and its people.”
Police Minister Bheki Cele said the police “failed” at Kinnear. The minister said this at a briefing in the Kinnear family’s driveway on Saturday, after spending nearly an hour with Kinnear’s wife, Nicolette, and their children, Carlisle and Casleigh.
“I have to say that sadly right now, there are more questions than answers … but right now, as it stands, it seems that we have failed as a police officer. We could have done better.”
Cele said he would not hesitate to ask President Cyril Ramaphosa for additional resources, if necessary, to locate Kinnear’s killers.
Meanwhile, on the streets of the beloved suburb of Kinnear, Bishop Lavis, the local Community Police Forum (CPF) planned to hold a candlelight vigil outside the Kinnear family home Thursday for the evening to honor him.
– Compiled by Riaan Grobler
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