Fear is stalking the corridors of the Wynberg Magistrate's Court as prosecutors, lawyers and magistrates are scared they might be next after a man was shot dead outside a courtroom. They said repeated complaints about the lack of security at the court have fallen on deaf ears.

Dingalomoyo Chintso, 49, was shot multiple times in front of Court D in full view of staff, magistrates, and members of the public.

The attack that has sent shockwaves through South Africa’s legal community and reignited longstanding concerns about safety in the country’s courts.

Speaking after the incident, a prosecutor - who asked to remain anonymous - outlined ongoing security failures they constantly raised but were ignored.

“Tuesday was a harrowing experience - one that we have long feared and repeatedly warned would happen,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said people entering the court were not being properly searched, metal detectors were not working, and only eight security personnel are available for the entire building - many of them women, left without proper back-up.

The prosecutor also noted that repeated requests for security gates in sensitive office areas have gone unanswered.

“We’ve had numerous gang fights in the building. Gang members have stormed the offices of clerks and prosecutors, and there have been chases through the court’s cash hall - with knives. It’s been chaos.”

The prosecutor also pointed to a Department of Justice safety survey conducted last year, saying: “We’ve never seen that report. We don’t know what it found, or if any action was ever taken.”

Most alarming, the prosecutor said, is the lack of security on the fourth floor of Wynberg Court - home to some of the most dangerous criminal matters, including murder and armed robbery cases.

“Often there’s no security presence at all. At best, there’s a single female officer with a radio. That’s not enough.”

On the day of the shooting, the High Court was using a former regional courtroom inside the Wynberg building.