Alleged cop killer ‘lied about being a private eye’

Murder accused former rugby player Zain Killian lied about being a private investigator, the state said after adding another charge to his murder case.

Killian is accused of masterminding a hit against gang-busting top cop Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear, who was shot dead outside his home in Bishop Lavis in September. The officer was understood to have been followed and under covert surveillance for a period before the murder took place.

One of Killian’s main points of defence is that he never broke the law by spying on the policeman as he was doing his job as a private investigator. Now, the state has revealed Killian was not registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) and was therefor not permitted to intercept Kinnear’s telecommunications under the law.

In addition to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and transgressing the Telecommunications Act, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the state had since added fraud to his list of charges for lying about his private investigator status.

“On the 9th of October, his defence team submitted two copies of papers which indicated that (Killian) was registered as a private investigator and that what he was being accused of doing was not illegal. It turns out he is not registered with PSIRA, so now there is a charge of fraud.”

Killian was also expected to appear in court tomorrow over another unrelated case involving a shooting earlier this year, according to Ntabazalila.

In his last appearance the parties agreed to transfer and postpone the matter of his bail hearing from Bishop Lavis to the Belville Regional Court, citing security concerns in the high-security proceedings. But the matter had to be postponed again because the magistrate wasn’t available.

“Today the bail applications could not continue because the magistrate who was going to hear the bail application is engaged in other matters on the court roll and will only be available on 27 November,” Ntabazalila said.

Killian remains in custody in the Bishop Lavis police station.

Simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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