---
title: "Illegal mining emerges as possible link to murder of Sibanye lawyer Chinette Gallichan"
description: "Illegal mining syndicates operate in a landscape defined by fear, loathing and intimidation: compliance and collusion are extracted by threats directed at the kith and kin of employees."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "AGE OF THE ASSASSIN"
author: "Ed Stoddard"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ed-stoddard/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-03-25-illegal-mining-emerges-as-possible-link-to-murder-of-sibanye-lawyer-chinette-gallichan/"
published: "2026-03-25T15:49:41"
updated: "2026-03-25T15:49:45"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 555
---

# Illegal mining emerges as possible link to murder of Sibanye lawyer Chinette Gallichan

> Illegal mining syndicates operate in a landscape defined by fear, loathing and intimidation: compliance and collusion are extracted by threats directed at the kith and kin of employees.

By Ed Stoddard · Published 25 March 2026, 17:49 SAST · Updated 25 March 2026, 17:49 SAST

## Key points
- Chinette Gallichan, a lawyer for Sibanye-Stillwater, was shot dead in Johannesburg, with suspicions linking her murder to illegal gold mining syndicates.
- Her husband suggests the murder may be retaliation from criminal groups involved in illegal mining, as Gallichan worked on cases related to such collusion.
- Mining firms, including Sibanye, are facing increasing challenges from employees colluding with syndicates, often driven by financial gain.
- The incident highlights a troubling trend of violence against legal professionals, raising concerns about broader implications for justice in SA.

## Content

The war on illegal mining may have caught Chinette Gallichan, the Sibanye-Stillwater lawyer who was shot dead Monday morning, 23 March 2026, in the Joburg CBD, in its crosshairs.

Gallichan’s husband Keegan told [Netwerk24](https://www.netwerk24.com/nuus/misdaad/zama-zamas-speel-rol-in-regspraktisyn-se-skietdood-vermoed-haar-man-20260324-0453) that he believed his wife’s murder may have been linked to illegal gold mining, and multiple sources have told Daily Maverick there are strong suspicions that this is the case.

Sibanye, like other South African gold producers, has long been struggling with the scourge of illegal mining, and the key front in this war is the collusion between employees and the criminal syndicates behind the zama zamas.

Measures that mining companies have taken to tackle this problem have included the prohibition of miners taking food with them underground – a move that aims to snuff out supplies to zamas who operate in both working and closed shafts.

[Read more

‘Lawyers must be safeguarded,’ says justice minister after Chinette Gallichan’s murder

March 23, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/BycK7D58JI8ZcKSiUqUKfMdni2o=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/MACGMGQ3N5D5TP26QSOR737R2M_638016.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-03-23-sibanye-lawyer-shot-dead-in-joburg-cbd-while-working-on-labour-dispute-case/)

Illegal mining syndicates operate in a landscape defined by fear, loathing and intimidation: compliance and collusion are extracted by threats directed at the kith and kin of employees, according to senior union leaders and other mining stakeholders this correspondent has spoken to in the past about the issue.

But the rewards for collusion can also be rich.

“It is profitable for employees on the gold mines, including Sibanye’s, to collude with the syndicates – they make more money from it than they do from their wages,” a mining security source told Daily Maverick.

The source said that the cases that Gallichan worked on involved collusion and that the plausible motive for her murder pointed to a warning to mining companies: don’t mess with us.

The source added that this might not be the work of the syndicates, but that of miners facing dismissal over collusion because the lost revenue stream went far beyond their wages.

Other sources have said that this is a suspicion.

Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted confirmed that among the cases Gallichan worked on were those involving illegal mining.

He also said that incidents of collusion between employees at Sibanye’s gold operations and criminal syndicates had been on the rise. But Sibanye is not at this stage speculating about the motives behind the murder.

This illegal mining link remains speculation and the police have been tight-lipped. SAPS did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.

But it makes more sense than a run-of-the-mill labour dispute over a dismissal where the murder of the company lawyer involved would hardly advance the grievances raised at the offices of the CCMA, which is close to where Gallichan was slain.

![BM-News/Ed-SibanyeMurder](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/sSijGAiVmTiu0O3JQJSpnYw0bKs=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/656080145_10163950241507528_8486284554032689784_n_147776.jpg)

*Labour lawyer Chinette Gallichan was murdered outside the CCMA offices in Johannesburg on 23 March 2026. (Photo: LinkedIn / Chinette Gallichan)*

Gallichan’s brazen murder has sent shockwaves across the legal community and is a grim reminder of the scale of ruthlessness and lawlessness that go hand in hand in the gangster’s paradise that is SA.

“This incident reflects a broader and deeply concerning pattern in which legal professionals, investigators, prosecutors and witnesses are increasingly exposed to intimidation and violence,” Business Against Crime SA said in a statement about Gallichan’s murder.

“In organised crime environments, such violence is not incidental. It is used to exert pressure on the system, to influence outcomes, and to shield criminal networks from accountability.” **DM**