More charges against ‘gangster’ expected, Cele tells parly

The police are holding their breath ahead of alleged gangster Nafiz Modack’s bail hearing, but Police Minister Bheki Cele expects the team investigating the case will have further charges against him and others.

Modack has been accused of several high-profile crimes and will appear in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court on Monday, along with Ant-Gang Unit (AGU) police officer Ashley Tabisher, on corruption charges.

The state is expected to oppose bail.

Modack was also charged separately for allegedly being involved in a thwarted hand-grenade attack at the house of slain AGU detective Charl Kinnear.

However, at his court appearance on Tuesday, Modack was not charged with the murder of Kinnear.

Kinnear was shot dead outside his house, in Bishop Lavis, on 18 September 2020.

Since his arrest, Modack has also been charged with the alleged kidnapping of an investment manager and the attempted murder of lawyer, William Booth.

On Wednesday, Cele appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Police.

Progress

Committee chairperson Tina Joemat-Pettersson congratulated Cele and his team on the progress in the Kinnear case.

“It really shows that we have a team that is on top of their game, and we do respect the work you are doing under difficult circumstances,” she said.

Cele said the team in the Western Cape is doing good work.

“They have always been blamed for dealing with sardines there and let[ting] the sharks swim alone. They are really beginning to deal with the guys they are supposed to be dealing with in a very top way. I hope this will help us to stabilise the Western Cape.”

Cele also said the different levels of government are working together well, leading to progress in the extortion cases.

He said 107 people had been arrested for extortion in the province.

“The team that has put together the question of Modack, they are coming back on Friday. And I think extra charges, with other people, will be put on him.”

“It looks like the police are beginning to link very well the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Kinnear with the underworld of the Western Cape.

Underworld

“Unfortunately, chairperson, our own people get consumed in that underworld,” he said, referring to Tabisher’s arrest.

Later, he said the police suffered due to problems in other parts of the security cluster.

“This guy, Modack, is out on four bails, as we speak, chairperson… he has five withdrawn cases, and he has been found guilty three times.

“We are all holding our breath that he will not get the bail [in the latest case].

“The people that get blamed is the police. That should not be the question of the police because they get frustrated. When you have a person who is so high-profile, and he is out on four bails for serious cases, what do you expect the police to do?” Cele said.

He encouraged the committee to raise this question to other agencies, on behalf of the police.