PROJECT: INSOLVENCY ATTORNEY BOUWER VAN NIEKERK MURDERED IN HIS BOARDROOM IN A HIT-STYLE ASSASSINATION
- Isabel Spies
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
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In the morning on Friday, 5 September 2025, well‑known Johannesburg insolvency lawyer Mr. Bouwer van Niekerk, a director at attorneys Smit Sewgoolam known as SmitSew, was assassinated in his boardroom at Avonwold Road, Sandton.
Two individuals, posing as clients who had made a formal appointment to see Mr. Bouwer van Niekerk regarding a legal matter, fatally shot him and left without stealing anything.
All indications are that this was a premeditated assassination, probably linked to his role in exposing those powerful individuals who benefited from systemic corruption or financial manipulation,
as Mr. Bouwer Van Niekerk was involved in high-stakes insolvency cases, notably ties to business rescue matters involving Gupta-linked companies.
This type of hit is not new - on 18 March 2023, while driving on the N1 highway near the New Road offramp in Midrand, Gauteng, Mr. Cloete Murray and his son, Mr. Thomas Murray, were ambushed, shot and killed by unknown assailants.
Mr. Cloete Murray was also a prominent and highly respected insolvency practitioner.
He was a court-appointed liquidator in high-stakes cases, notably involving Bosasa, Gupta-connected entities, Comair, and others tied to state-capture and corruption.
His work made him influential and a target.
The assassinations of Mr. Cloete Murray and Mr. Bouwer van Niekerk are part of a disturbing trend in South Africa: liquidators and insolvency practitioners are increasingly targeted by organised crime.
Owing to the ineffectiveness of institutions like the SAPS Serious Economic Offences Unit, these professionals have become frontline financial investigators, using their legal powers to trace, freeze, and recover illicit assets.
Mr. Bouwer Van Niekerk’s murder likely signals that he was getting too close to powerful beneficiaries of organised financial crime—a pattern seen in other major cases that our organisation has been involved in, such as:
The notorious diamond trader turned Ponzi scheme operator, Mr. Louis Liebenberg, who enjoyed political protection and impunity for years, including ties to former President Jacob Zuma.
It was only when no-nonsense liquidators took control that the extent of the fraud was exposed, leading to Mr. Liebenberg’s arrest and failed bail attempts.
Similarly, the recent Kleuterzone Ponzi scheme, run by Mr. Anthonie Bougas, was only shut down after liquidation proceedings began.
Investigations revealed extensive cash flow manipulation and misappropriation.
Mr. Anthonie Bougas, has since fled the country and is now an international fugitive, with his South African estate placed under sequestration.
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