The man charged with the murder of top cop Charl Kinnear saw his urgent bail application dismissed by the Western Cape High Court yesterday.
Zane Kilian is charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and the unlawful interception of communications.
The former professional rugby player from Springs, who later became a debt collector in Gauteng, was arrested on 23 September 2020.
Kinnear, 52, a commander with the Anti-Gang Unit, was shot dead in his car outside his Bishop Lavis home on 18 September.
At the time of his murder, Kinnear was working on a number of high-profile cases, involving some of the province’s top alleged gang bosses.
The State alleged that Kilian had been tracking Kinnear’s cellphone leading up to his assassination.
Kilian is alleged to have pinged Kinnear’s phone more than 2 000 times before his death.
In March, Kilian applied for bail in the Bellville Magistrates’ Court, which was denied.
In May, he made an urgent application to the Western Cape High Court to have this decision overturned.
According to the court, his application was dismissed as Kilian could not prove that there were exceptional circumstances, that were in the interest of justice, to release him on bail.
He has also been implicated in the attempted murder of defence lawyer William Booth, who was shot at outside his Higgovale home on 9 April 2020.
It is alleged Kilian also pinged Booth’s phone 658 times on 6 March and 18 September 2020.
Controversial businessman and alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack has also been charged with the murder of Kinnear, as well as the attempted murder of Booth.
The case against both Kilian and Modack has since been moved to the Blue Downs Court.