Bouwer van Niekerk was shot dead at the offices of Smit Sew Attorneys and Conveyancers in Saxonwold on Friday.
The legal community and parliamentarians have called for greater protection for those investigating high-profile corruption cases.
Insolvency lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk was shot in Johannesburg in what is believed to be a targeted attack on those standing up to criminal elements.
Van Niekerk had previously worked on a case involving the Guptas and had spoken out against the unsolved murders of Babita Deokaran and Cloete and Thomas Murray.
Climate of fear
Chairperson of the portfolio committee on police Ian Cameron lamented the lack of progress made on the Deokaran and Murray cases.
Speaking after the news of Van Niekerk’s murder, Cameron said the incident exacerbated the fearful conditions legal investigators worked under.
“When lawyers and investigators are targeted, it is not just individuals who are silenced, it is likely justice itself that is being attacked,” Cameron posted on X.
“South Africa cannot accept a climate where organised crime dictates who lives and who dies while accountability stalls.”
News24 reported on Saturday that Van Niekerk had received death threats in the days prior to his murder.
He was reportedly working on a business rescue case involving a large ponzi scheme.
South Africa: Decisive action needed after murder of lawyer Bouwer van Niekerk
