Legal community holds wreath-laying ceremony for deputy State attorney hit by car

The legal community paid their respects to late deputy State attorney Tswaledi Sekwati on Wednesday morning with a wreath-laying ceremony.

This comes after the 53-year-old was knocked over by a vehicle on Monday morning outside the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

READ | Deputy state attorney in Joburg killed after being hit by vehicle

The initiative was supported by the Bar Council after the Pitje group of advocates obtained permission from the judge president to lay flowers outside the High Court. 

Members of the bar came in their numbers, dressed in their robes, to pay their last respects in a brief moment outside the court.

In a statement issued on Monday, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola expressed his sadness, saying Sekwati's death came at a time when "we need the best among us to serve with all the diligence we can muster," News24 reported. 

Police have since opened a case of culpable homicide and impounded the vehicle.

The Johannesburg Society of Advocates hopes that this incident will highlight the lack of policing around the court precinct.

"Government must take drastic and urgent steps to address the situation," chairperson Kameshni Pillay, SC, said in a statement on Tuesday.