Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of Johannesburg attorney Bouwer van Niekerk, who was gunned down in his Saxonwold office in September 2025.

Van Niekerk was shot dead in the boardroom of his SmitSew law office on 5 September by two men posing as prospective clients. Accomplices waited outside in a getaway vehicle. Police launched a manhunt for four suspects following the attack.

The 43-year-old insolvency attorney had allegedly received multiple death threats warning him to step away from a case involving a suspected Ponzi scheme linked to cryptocurrency trading. The case centred on NTC Global Trade and related entities, which were placed in provisional liquidation shortly after his murder.

Police have said that the 33-year-old suspect was arrested after intensive investigations. More arrests are expected to be made. The suspect, who has not been named, remains in custody and is due to appear in court on 11 May.

The Democratic Alliance welcomed the arrest on Sunday, but warned that justice would only be served if those who planned and financed the killing are also brought to book.

Ian Cameron, the DA’s deputy spokesperson on police, said the arrest marked progress but could not be mistaken for justice.

“It is critical that this investigation does not end with the arrest of an alleged hitman, but that it leads to the identification and prosecution of those who planned, financed, and authorised this killing,” Cameron said.

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He said Van Niekerk’s case pointed to the possibility of a broader criminal network behind the murder.

“South Africans are all too familiar with cases where those who pull the trigger are arrested, while those who give the orders escape accountability,” he said.

The DA called on the South African Police Service to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that every individual involved is brought to justice.

Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi condemned the killing in September 2025, calling for a swift investigation. At the time, it was unclear whether the murder was linked to any of Van Niekerk’s ongoing legal cases.

The Law Society of South Africa described the killing as an assassination and called for urgent protection of legal practitioners.

Police are still searching for the murders of a prominent labour lawyer who was gunned down in broad daylight outside the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration offices in the Johannesburg CBD on 23 March.

Chinette Gallichan (35), from Krugersdorp, was shot at point-blank range as she walked to the CCMA offices. Police have launched a murder investigation and are searching for two suspects. No arrests have been made.

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