Western Cape High Court Judge Mark Sher has found that given Zane Killian’s previous conduct in attempting to destroy material evidence and that state witnesses and members of the investigating team have been threatened, it would not be in the interests of justice for him to be released on bail.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the high court’s decision to dismiss Killian’s second attempt to be released on bail, NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said on Thursday.
Killian together with 14 co-accused is facing 124 charges, including racketeering, money-laundering and gang-related contraventions of the Prevention of Organized Crime Act, 24 counts of the unlawful interception of electronic communications, 19 counts of corruption-related offences, four counts of murder, fraud, extortion and kidnapping.
His co-accused include alleged gang boss Nafiz Modack, Ziyaad Poole, Moegamat Toufeek Brown, Riyaat Gesant, Fagmeed Kelly, Mario Petersen, Jacques Cronje, Petrus Visser, Janick Adonis, Amaal Jantjies, Ashley Tabisher, Yaaseen Modack, Mogamat Adiel Mukudam and Ricardo Anthony Morgan.
“Judge Sher said, in his view, given the accused’s admitted connections to figures in the underworld, the fact that he was previously able to leave the country to go to neighbouring states without, seemingly, using his SA passport and that he had access to large sums of money that were deposited into his account, from illicit sources related to criminal activities, if he were to be granted bail, there is every likelihood that he would seek to leave the country and evade justice,” Ntabazalila said.
Killian’s first bail application was heard at the Bellville Regional Court which the State successfully opposed.
At the time he faced charges of murder and conspiracy to murder Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear, unlawfully intercepting electronic communications from Kinnear’s cellphones, and a charge of fraud in that he allegedly misrepresented to the police, by way of a false certificate, that he was registered as a private investigator.
Killian testified that he was a father of two children and highlighted his role in looking after them.
He claimed that his income averaged R20 000 per month and was derived principally from repossessing motor vehicles and tracing debtors.
Ntabazalila said Killian argued that various people other than him had pinged Kinnear, and police had filed an affidavit which revealed that a private investigator was paid R180 000 by Modack.
The contents of an IPID report had also cast the network of suspects far and wide, and included members of the police and those of a ‘rogue unit’ in crime intelligence, who had also been monitoring and tracking Kinnear, Killian argued.
The State submitted that it was not in the interest of justice for the accused to be released on bail as the charges he faced were serious with Killian likely to face life imprisonment if convicted. “It is not the first time the State has been successful in opposing bail against some of the 15 accused. Last year the high court dismissed a bail appeal brought by Modack, Cronje and Tabisher.
“At the time the court described them as a danger to society and they needed to be kept inside a correctional facility, pending the outcome of their trials. The NPA welcomes the decision of the court.”.
Cape Times