Advocate Vernon Jantjies was shot dead on Sunday night at a petrol station in Mitchells Plain.
Jantjies specialised in criminal cases, such as the trial of gangster Conroy Owies – convicted of murder in 2006 – and defended clients with alleged connections to gangs.
The South African Police Service’s Brigadier Novela Potelwa said: ‘It is alleged that at 21:40 [on Sunday night] the deceased had just stepped out of a shop at a garage in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain when several shots were fired at him. He died on the scene.’ Two other people were injured and taken to hospital.
As in the Cape Town murders of Advocate Pete Mihalik, in 2018, and attorney Noorudien Hassan, in 2016, Jantjies’ death is believed to have been a targeted hit. Mihalik was killed outside his children’s school after having received death threats, and Hassan was killed outside his home.
Advocate Gilbert Jose has expressed concern for the safety of Cape Town lawyers, saying: ‘We live in a lawless culture. It’s totally unthinkable and it makes it very difficult for lawyers to work in the court corridors.’
No arrests had been made by last evening.