Africa-Press – South-Africa. A man who confessed to being part of a plot to bomb the house of the late Anti-Gang Unit member Lieutenant-Colonel Charl Kinnear has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Fareez Smith was convicted on a count of aiding and abetting the activities of a gang, possession of explosives under certain circumstances and conspiracy to commit murder, said National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
Smith was sentenced to five years in prison for each of the three charges he was convicted of.
The Khayelitsha Priority Crimes Court has, however, ordered them to run concurrently.
News24 previously reported the hand grenade fell out of Smith’s pocket outside the Kinnear’s house in November 2019, but did not detonate.
However, Kinnear was ultimately murdered on 18 September 2020, outside the same house in Bishop Lavis, despite police being warned his phone was being tracked.
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In his plea and sentencing agreement, Smith admitted he was a member of the Junky Funky Kids (JFK) operating in Manenberg, said Ntabazalila.
“The gang committed crimes like conspiracy to commit murder, murder, attempted murder, possession of firearms, possession of ammunition, theft, housebreaking, assault and dealing in drugs.
“He told the court that he and Janick Adonis were neighbours and members of the JFK gang. He claims Adonis contacted him from prison on 22 November 2019, and they conspired to launch a hand grenade on Lieutenant-Colonel Kinnear’s house in Bishop Lavis and kill him.
“Adonis told Smith that his girlfriend, Amaal Jantjies, would contact him and confirm details of the plan. Adonis and Jantjies are co-accused with others charged with the murder of Lieutenant-Colonel Kinnear. Jantjies contacted Smith, and they met after Jantjies arrived in a German sedan with another man and a woman in the vehicle.
According to him, Smith confessed to driving to Clarke Estate, where they bought tik and smoked it in the vehicle.
He was apparently dropped close to the house, and Adonis sent him instructions via SMS to throw the hand grenade hard against the wall to ensure the pin came out so that it would explode.
“He was given the hand grenade, put it in his pants and walked towards the house. As he got closer to the house, he saw two police officers getting out of their vehicle that was parked in front of the house.
“They confronted him, and at that moment, the hand grenade fell out of his pants onto the ground, and the police officers arrested him. He admits the hand grenade could have killed the police officers outside the house and the Kinnear family that was inside the house with him,” Ntabazalila said.
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