Cape Town – Police detectives are following up several leads following the fatal shooting of an advocate, Vernon Jantjies, in Lentegeur in MItchells Plain.
The 54-year-old Jantjies was shot dead at 9.40pm on Sunday outside a shop at the BP garage at the Clock Tower.
"It is alleged that at 21:40 last 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," Western Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said on Monday.
"The deceased had previously worked for the Department of Justice in the Khayelitsha area.
"Anyone with information that could assist in the investigation is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111."
Radio 786 reported that two other people were injured in the shooting and had to be rushed to nearby hospitals.
It has been alleged that it was a targeted hit. Jantjies was known for defending clients with links to alleged organised crime.
Advocate Vernon Jantjies File picture: African News Agency (ANA)
In October last year, lawyer Pete Mihalik’s name was reportedly on a hit list before he was allegedly assassinated.
He had received death threats a day before he was gunned down outside his son’s upmarket school in Green Point.
The alleged hit came a week ahead of the trial of underworld kingpins Nafiz Modack and Colin Booysen in the Cape Town Regional Court.
Last week, the Western Cape High Court heard there was still a struggle to find lawyers willing to represent two of the accused, Sizwe Biyela and Nkosinathi Khumalo.
The duo appeared with Vuyile Maliti before Judge Mushtak Parker for their first pre-trial hearing in the Western Cape High Court.
In November 2016, attorney Noorudien Hassan, who worked with Mihalik and was linked to high-profile gang cases, was shot dead in his car outside his Lansdowne home.