Legal lobby groups have called for swift justice for the murder of attorney Chinette Gallichan in central Johannesburg in broad daylight on Monday.
Non-profit organisations Freedom Under Law (FUL) and Business Against Crime South Africa (Bacsa) say the brazen assassination points to a wave of targeted violence against legal practitioners and a growing threat to the criminal justice system.
Gallichan was shot dead near the CCMA offices at the corner of Fox and Joubert Streets in Johannesburg on Monday, according to a statement by the department of justice and constitutional development.
While case details and potential motives have not yet been made public, Gallichan was an attorney on Sibanye Stillwater’s legal team and was reportedly involved in a labour dispute on behalf of the precious metals miner at the time of her death.
According to FUL, who likened the incident to the assassination of insolvency attorney Bouwer van Niekerk last year, Gallichan’s murder had “the hallmarks of a targeted hit”.
“The circumstances of Ms Gallichan’s murder raise deeply concerning questions about the potential role of organised crime in this fatality,” said FUL.
“Whatever the underlying reason, her death represents an attack on the rule of law and therefore on our constitutional democracy. We cannot allow the threat of violence to be normalised or to be used to intimidate legal practitioners and to manipulate the legal system.”
Bacsa said Gallichan’s death reflects a “broader and deeply concerning pattern in which legal professionals, investigators, prosecutors and witnesses are increasingly exposed to intimidation and violence”.
“In organised crime environments, such violence is not incidental. It is used to exert pressure on the system, to influence outcomes and to shield criminal networks from accountability,” it said.
The group called on the state to step in by raising protection measures, potentially by expanding measures such as witness protection to a wider range of individuals exposed to the criminal justice system.
Justice and constitutional development minister Mmamoloko Kubayi said on Tuesday that police investigations were ongoing and that no arrests had yet been made.
“An attack of this nature undermines the rule of law and threatens the very foundation of our constitutional democracy. Legal practitioners play a critical role in ensuring access to justice, and their safety must be safeguarded at all times,” she said.
Sibanye-Stillwater has not responded to Business Day’s request for comment.
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