- AFT reports that Myron Dewrance SC, Madlanga Commissioner Sandile Khumalo SC, their families and other justice actors have received ongoing threats from several different phone numbers.
- The organisation says this campaign of intimidation has now included explicit threats of rape and sexual violence against women who have no connection to the underlying dispute.
- AFT says its initial enquiries suggest the grievance may be linked to a disciplinary matter involving the Johannesburg Society of Advocates, but it emphasises that it is not accusing any individual of being responsible.
A wave of threats and intimidation has struck at the heart of South Africa’s legal community, with the National Chairperson of Advocates for Transformation, Advocate Myron Dewrance SC, Madlanga Commissioner Sandile Khumalo SC, their families, and other justice officials all being singled out in a relentless and coordinated campaign.
In a statement, the organisation said it chose not to make the issue public while it preserved evidence and carried out its initial enquiries. However, the increasing severity of the threats has now made it necessary to speak out.
According to AFT, threatening messages have been sent from several different phone numbers to Dewrance, Khumalo, members of Dewrance’s family and friends, as well as other people connected to the administration of justice.
The organisation says these messages repeatedly single out Dewrance and Khumalo by name, mention AFT directly and, in some cases, claim to know the targets’ locations, workplaces and movements.
The Rule of Law itself is under attack
AFT says these threats are not just aimed at individuals but amount to an attack on South Africa’s constitutional order.
The organisation notes that the country has seen a worrying pattern where prosecutors, investigators and legal practitioners have been threatened, intimidated and, in the most extreme cases, killed simply for doing their jobs.
“When those who are trusted to uphold the Rule of Law are threatened for doing their jobs, it is the Rule of Law itself that is under attack,” the organisation said.
AFT also says advocates’ independence and the safety of justice officials are vital to maintaining public confidence in the legal system.
Preliminary enquiries point to disciplinary proceedings
The organisation says its initial enquiries suggest the reason for the threats may come from disciplinary proceedings involving a member of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates (JSA) who was charged with serious professional misconduct.
AFT explained that Khumalo chaired the JSA’s Professional Committee and served on the Bar Council during the time in question, while Dewrance’s role as National Chairperson has also been mentioned in the threatening messages.
The organisation says several messages have told members of Dewrance’s family to “blame Sandile” and others accuse Khumalo of being responsible for the outcome of the disciplinary process.
However, AFT stresses that its enquiries are still at an early stage and it is not suggesting or accusing the advocate involved, the JSA or anyone else of authoring or directing these threats.
It says that finding out who is responsible is something for the authorities to investigate. “A professional disciplinary process cannot be answered with intimidation. An advocate cannot be threatened just for doing their professional duty,” AFT said.
Escalation to rape and sexual violence threats
AFT says the campaign has taken a deeply disturbing turn, with explicit threats of rape and sexual violence now being made against women who have absolutely no involvement in the original dispute.
The organisation has condemned what it calls the weaponisation of gender-based violence, saying these threats exploit South Africa’s crisis of violence against women as a tool for intimidation and revenge.
AFT warns that rights to dignity, life, bodily and psychological integrity and freedom from violence must be protected with decisive action before justice actors or their families come to harm. “Women are not instruments of retaliation. Families are not legitimate targets,” the statement said.
Evidence preserved and legal action to follow
AFT says it has kept all available evidence, including the threatening messages and the phone numbers they came from, and will cooperate with the proper investigations.
The organisation has renewed its call for better protection of advocates, prosecutors, investigators and other justice actors, warning that these threats must be taken seriously before they turn into acts of violence.
AFT also made it clear that intimidation will not influence its leadership, professional decisions or nominations within the legal profession. “AFT will not allow itself to be intimidated. Threats against its leadership, its representatives or their families will not determine whom AFT nominates, the positions it adopts or the work it undertakes,” the organisation said.
AFT says it will take every lawful step needed to protect those affected and make sure those responsible are identified and held to account, but declined to comment further on operational or investigative matters.
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