Defence witness reveals Kinnear's deep distrust of anti-gang unit before assassination

A high-ranking police officer testifying in the trial of alleged underworld gang boss Nafiz Modack told the court on Tuesday that the slain top cop, Charl Kinnear, did not trust the police service.

Modack, along with 14 co-accused, faces 122 charges, including the murder of Kinnear nearly six years ago. The defence called a police captain to the stand today to testify regarding meetings held with Kinnear before the fatal shooting in 2020.

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The witness, a police captain who requested anonymity, was referred to in court as 'Mister F'.

He revealed that Kinnear was involved in a significant dispute with General Andre Lincoln in January 2020, nine months before his assassination.

According to Mr F, Kinnear was disgruntled because Lincoln intended to transfer him from Mitchells Plain back to the Sea Point Police Station, where he had previously been based.

The court heard that the proposed transfer stemmed from Kinnear's refusal to undergo a security assessment following a botched hand grenade attack at his home.

When Mister F questioned Kinnear about his refusal to cooperate with the assessment, the late officer reportedly expressed deep cynicism toward his superiors.

"He says: 'How the hell can Lincoln put people by my place and then a hand grenade [is] attempted to get thrown at my place and then, just subsequently thereafter, when the threat was general, you take the people away?'"

Mister F concluded his testimony by stating that Kinnear maintained a profound distrust of the police service, specifically citing his own colleagues within the Anti-Gang Unit.