The court case involving the attempted hit on top criminal lawyer William Booth was put on hold on Monday as prosecutors wait to see if murder accused Zane Kilian is granted bail next month.
body.copy.bold: Kilian, along with Kauthar Brown, Ebrahim Deare and Riyaad Gesant, returned to the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court yesterday for the attempted murder case after shots were fired at Booth in April last year.
The former rugby player was busted by the Hawks after the assassination of top cop Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear who was gunned down outside his Bishop Lavis home on 18 September last year.
During the investigation the Hawks discovered that Kilian, 39, had allegedly been tracking Kinnear’s cellphone and he was subsequently charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and unlawful interception of communication.
A further investigation by the Hawks revealed that he also allegedly pinged Booth’s phone and he now faces gang-related charges, additional charges of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, unlawful interception of communication and access or interception of any data without permission, relating to the Booth case.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said: “The matter has been postponed to 5 February. The court is watching the bail application of Zane Kilian at the Bellville Regional Court scheduled for 2 February.
“The accused[s] are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder of William Booth, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition.
“The other accused except Zane Kilian are also charged with five counts of contravention of the Disaster Management Regulations.”
Meanwhile, the circumstances surrounding the removal of protection at Kinnear’s home was thrust into the spotlight last week after a SAPS document was leaked.