Cape Town - The Elsies River woman accused of orchestrating the grenade attack on the home of slain Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear allegedly claimed to be an attorney on the day of her arrest.
This evidence, led against Amaal Jantjies in the Western Cape High Court, has put on a spin on her constitutional challenge on the seizing of her cellphones.
The challenge made by Jantjies’s Legal Aid lawyer, advocate Pauline Andrews, has plunged the mammoth case against alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack into a trial-within-a-trial, as she objected to the evidence on her cellphones being submitted into the court record.
In her arguments, Andrews told Judge Robert Henney that it was her client’s contention that her rights were not explained to her during the arrest; she did not consent to the confiscation of the cellphones; and the confiscation was unconstitutional and violated her right to privacy.
According to the State’s case, Jantjies along with her former lover, Janick Adonis, faces over 10 charges linked to the planned grenade attack on the Kinnear family.
It is understood that the cellphones contained communication between Jantjies, Adonis and Modack on the planned attacks.
During earlier proceedings, it was also revealed that Jantjies received over R60 000 from an Empire Investments bank account and even given a BMW by Modack.
After days of legal arguments, the State finally called Sergeant Faizel Storah, who was present on the night Jantjies was arrested in November 2019.
In his testimony, he told the court that on November 22 that year, he was called to Kinnear’s home where he met fellow officers who had detained a suspect known as “Mamokie” who was found in possession of a hand grenade.
He said that while being questioned, Jantjies had called Mamokie’s phone and a preliminary investigation started into who the woman was who planned the attack.
Storah said former Sergeant Ashley Tabisher informed them that he knew Jantjies.
Tabisher then assisted Storah by pointing out a council flat where she lived.
He said that on arrival, he found Jantjies laying on a bed and when told to stand up, she pushed the cellphones under her pillow.
Storah also told the court that he informed her that she was being arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, and that she had a right to an attorney and not to incriminate herself.
Further probed by Judge Henney about whether Jantjies was informed of her rights, Storah said: “She said she is an attorney”.
Jantjies also faces another hurdle as Judge Henney highlighted that the same cellphone evidence she was contesting, she also used to defend herself in the bail hearings.
The judge said that court records showed that Jantjies was warned by the magistrate before testifying on the merits, but she still continued, therefore conceding to the cellphone evidence being admitted.