The fatal shooting of attorney Chinette Gallichan in the Johannesburg CBD while heading to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration offices has intensified concerns about a growing pattern of violence targeting members of the legal profession.
Gallichan was shot dead in a brazen daylight attack on Monday. Early reports suggest the killing may have been targeted, though the motive remains under investigation. No arrests have been made.
The Johannesburg Society of Advocates Bar Council described the incident as part of an “increasingly discernible pattern” in which legal practitioners face threats, intimidation and, in extreme cases, lethal violence linked to their professional duties.
“This tragedy cannot be viewed in isolation,” said Bar Council chair advocate Don Mahon SC. “Such conduct strikes not merely at individuals but at the institutional integrity of the administration of justice.”
The council warned that repeated attacks on lawyers point to a systemic problem, with limited progress made despite previous engagements with authorities and public condemnations.
Those who resort to such brutality must understand that their actions will neither intimidate nor impede the administration of justice but will instead attract the full weight of the law’s response
— Don Mahon, Joburg Bar Council chair
The killing has renewed calls for urgent intervention, including the establishment of a specialised task force in the SAPS dedicated to investigating and preventing targeted attacks on legal professionals.
He added that those behind such attacks are misguided if they believe violence will achieve their aims.
“Violence of this nature does not, and will not, achieve its intended ends. It does not silence the law, nor does it derail the course of justice. On the contrary, it galvanises the resolve of the profession and strengthens the collective commitment to the rule of law,” Mahon said.
“Those who resort to such brutality must understand that their actions will neither intimidate nor impede the administration of justice but will instead attract the full weight of the law’s response.”
The Bar Council condemned the killing as “senseless and brutal” and extended condolences to Gallichan’s family, friends and colleagues.
“No words can adequately capture the depth of sorrow occasioned by such a loss,” Mahon said. “A life devoted to the service of justice has been so violently extinguished.”
Members of the legal profession have been urged to remain vigilant.
TimesLIVE
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