Legal bodies condemn 'vile' threats and intimidation campaign targeting senior advocates

This follows earlier threats which escalated to include explicit threats of sexual violence against women connected to the advocates. Two of South Africa's legal bodies have condemned a campaign of threats and intimidation directed at senior advocates Myron Dewrance and Sandile Khumalo. In a statement, Advocates for Transformation (AFT) said its national chairperson, advocate Myron Dewrance, and advocate Sandile Khumalo had been targeted, along with Dewrance's family and friends. The organisation said that it had deliberately kept the threats private but could no longer stay silent as the intimidation spread to family members and, for the first time, turned sexual and violent in nature. AFT said that the threats were sent from multiple cellphone numbers to several recipients, and in some cases, showed knowledge of the advocates' locations, workplaces and movements. The organisation said its preliminary enquiries point to a possible link with disciplinary proceedings against a member of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates (JSA), where Khumalo chaired the professional committee. However, it stresses that it is not accusing any specific person, and that investigations are ongoing. In the statement, AFT said, "an advocate cannot be threatened for performing a professional duty, and the family of an advocate cannot become the price extracted for his independence"