Murder of Charl Kinnear

About

The murder of Charl Kinnear occurred at around 15:03 SAST on 18 September 2020 as he was arriving at his home in Bishop Lavis, Cape Town, South Africa. He was shot multiple times in the upper body whilst seated in the driver's seat of his white Toyota Corolla resulting in his death. Kinnear was a lieutenant colonel in the South African Police Service (SAPS) and was a detective and section commander for the Western Cape anti-gang unit Team C. Former semi-pro rugby player Zane Killian was arrested shortly after the incident and charged with Kinnear's murder. Kinnear's mobile phone had been illegally tracked 2,116 times by Killian before his murder using a specialised mobile phone tracking software that was accessible through a web browser on his phone or a computer.

At the time of his death Kinnear was investigating a gun racketeering case involving the alleged organised crime boss Nafiz Modack and 8 high-ranking police officers. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) reported that Kinnear's death could result in the collapse of a number of high-profile organised crime cases that he was investigating. The same report stated that there was a “rogue unit” in the Western Cape Crime Intelligence Division of SAPS and commended Kinnear's investigation of corruption within the organisation.