Manhunt as lawyer dies in hail of bullets
POLICE are on a manhunt for the murderers of Mitchells Plain advocate Vernon Jantjies, who was shot and killed outside his business.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said: “SAPS detectives are following up several leads following an incident where a 54-year-old man was shot dead in Lentegeur on Sunday night. It’s alleged that at 9.40pm the victim had just stepped out of a shop at a garage in Lentegeur, Mitchells Plain, when several shots were fired at him.”
Jantjies died on the scene at the garage at the Clock Tower, having sustained several bullet wounds.
He had previously worked for the Department of Justice in the Khayelitsha area, said Potelwa.
Jantjies was on the defence panel for Fadwaan “Vet” Murphy and had previously also represented underworld figures in Cape Town.
Lentegeur CPF chairperson Byron de Villiers said the murder had rocked the Mitchells Plain community as Jantjies was a “valued stakeholder”.
“It’s very sad that someone as prominent as him had to die in such a way. Jantjies really supported the community a lot and he was always one we could count on when we went to knock on his door for anything.
“We don’t condone any type of violence and hope the SAPS will bring the perpetrators to book.
“We understand the suspects fled the scene in a car but hope that CCTV footage will assist in the investigation,” said De Villiers.
He added that the incident was suspected to be a hit. “They definitely came to kill him,” said De Villiers.
Condolences have poured in for Jantjies on social media.
His murder comes just over a year after top criminal defence attorney Pete Mihalik was shot and killed outside Reddam House School in Green
Point on October 30 last year.
Sizwe Biyela, 31, and Nkosinathi Khumalo, 26, both from KwaZuluNatal, and Vuyile Maliti, 35, from Kuilsriver each face a murder charge after they were nabbed by police following Mihalik’s murder.
In 2016, prominent local attorney Noorudien Hassan was shot in his car outside his home in Lansdowne. Hassan worked closely with Mihalik and also represented some of the city’s most notorious characters.
Anyone with information that could assist in the investigation is requested to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111, or SMS Crime Line anonymously at 32211.