Mastermind behind Pete Mihalik’s murder still out there
|Published
Sizwe Biyela, Nkosinathi Khumalo and Vuyile Maliti were sentenced to life for Pete Mihalik’s murder. The mastermind remains a mystery. File image
Cape Town - Unless new evidence is found, questions around a murdered investigating officer and a missing mastermind will remain unanswered in the murder of Cape lawyer Pete Mihalik following the sentencing of three men for his murder.
This week the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed the docket will be returned to police and given back to them if fresh evidence comes to light.
NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said a fourth suspect, believed to be the mastermind, was being sought.
“If any further evidence comes to light that can give rise to an arrest, the matter will revert to the prosecution.”
After Mihalik’s public death in Green Point in October 2018, AGU commander and seasoned police officer, Lieutenant-Colonel, Charl Kinnear said the killer’s flashy clothes were a mistake and upon their arrest shoes and watches were taken into evidence.
Two years after being assigned to the case, Kinnear was assassinated outside his home in Bishop Lavis in September 2020.
Alleged underworld figures Nafiz Modack, Zane Kilian and Ricardo Morgan are facing charges for his (Kinnear) murder and their trial is expected to begin next year.
Kinnear’s security had been removed earlier and (this) is part of an investigation.
Chrispin Phiri of the The Department of Justice and Correctional Services said they were not in a position to comment on the case.
“The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services or the department does not comment on investigations or the outcome of criminal cases,” he said.
“This is because the work of law-enforcement agencies such as among others the NPA is conducted without any direction or input of the department or minister.
“This is done to ensure that the Constitution is respected; in terms of the Constitution ‘independence’ is fundamental in the prosecutorial decision-making function.”
Criminal defence lawyer William Booth said he was too closely affiliated with Mihalik to comment on the case.
Booth himself escaped a hit on his life in April 2020 when gunmen opened fire on him outside of his home in Higgovale.
Members of the Terrible West Siders gang, Kauthar Brown, Ebrahim Deare and Riyaad Gesant entered into a plea agreement with the State and were sentenced for their attempt in assassinating Booth.
And with an uncanny irony, Kilian, who is facing a murder charge for Kinnear, is no longer formally charged with the attempted murder of Booth after he made an appeal at the Western Cape High Court in 2021.
Police have not responded to Weekend Argus queries about Mihalik’s missing suspect.
Last week, Sizwe Biyela, Nkosinathi Khumalo and Vuyile Maliti who were found guilty of murder, two counts of attempted murder, that of Mihalik’s minor children and the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Mihalik was shot while dropping off his children outside of Reddam House in Green Point.
His 8-year-old son was wounded while his daughter was unharmed.
Mihalik represented several underworld figures.
During the trial, the court heard the killers had been paid in Kruger coins for the assassination which was valued at R200 000.
Biyela, who was living in KwaZulu-Natal in 2018, testified how he had gone from being a general worker to a gold trader.
He further testified how Khumalo and Maliti were his relatives and that he had been persuaded by a man he called “Nkosi” who had introduced him to the trade of Kruger rand and would make trips to Cape Town for business transactions.