LAW AND DISORDER: Slain Joburg attorney represented PA councillor linked to disputed gang claims

Police are investigating the circumstances around a double killing in which an attorney was fatally shot while in a car near a Johannesburg suburb where gang violence is prevalent.

The murders happened on Monday, 2 November, in Klipspruit West near Eldorado Park. Gangs including the Fast Guns and Varados operate there.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Mudau said that when officers arrived at the scene, they saw “a Toyota Urban Cruiser with bullet holes on the driver’s door and two unknown occupants”. Both – a man and a woman – were certified dead at the scene.

‘She represented me’

Mudau did not provide their names, but it has since emerged that the woman was Nadine Meintjes.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she was admitted as an attorney of the High Court three years ago.

Meintjes initially worked at BDK Attorneys before she took up a position at DVB Attorneys in November 2024.

Daily Maverick has since established that one of Meintjes’ clients was Juwairiya Kaldine, a Patriotic Alliance (PA) ward councillor from Eldorado Park.

Kaldine, who is very active on social media, recently described herself on Facebook, in what may have been a joke, as “the most talked about ward councillor in South Africa”.

Late on Wednesday, 4 November, after being kept busy with local government election activities, Kaldine responded to Daily Maverick queries about her connection to Meintjes.

Kaldine said that she was 34 years old and lived in Eldorado Park “where crime and violence have become a norm and especially against women and children.”

She confirmed that Meintjes “represented me in one case, a case of [a] protection order and harassment”. She said she would send fuller details, but by 10pm on Wednesday had not done so.

The PA, Prim and the gang claims

Kaldine’s name previously surfaced in a controversy involving a convicted inmate, Jermaine Prim, and PA leader Gayton McKenzie.

In January 2024, the Mail & Guardian reported it had “listened to a recording” which Prim’s family had played for it.

According to the article, the recording was “of Juwairiya Kaldine, a PA regional treasurer and City of Johannesburg councillor, who claimed Chinelle Stevens, the party’s secretary-general and daughter of reputed Cape Town gangster and drug peddler William ‘Red’ Stevens, took over her father’s criminal operations and funded the organisation with the spoils”.

The William ‘Red’ Stevens and Mark Lifman link

William “Red” Stevens was widely viewed as the most seasoned 27s gangster in the Western Cape. In 2021 he was fatally shot in Cape Town while facing charges in connection with the 2017 killing of international steroid smuggler Brian Wainstein. Stevens was a PA member – his daughter Chinelle still is – and PA leader Gayton McKenzie spoke at his funeral. Stevens had been charged in the Wainstein murder case along with others, including organised crime accused Mark Lifman and his associate Andre Naude. Both, like Stevens, have since been murdered.

McKenzie responded to the Mail & Guardian on behalf of the PA and Kaldine, saying he knew about the recording and that it had been doctored.

Prim’s name resurfaced this year at a parliamentary hearing investigating accusations that a cartel known as the Big Five has infiltrated the state.

A handwritten letter, apparently from Prim, became the brief focus of the hearing.

It alleged that McKenzie had received drugs from an associate of organised crime accused and suspected Big Five member Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, and that McKenzie had supplied consignments to Western Cape gangsters, including Stevens.

At the time, McKenzie denied the drug accusations, telling the SABC: “It’s laughable to me.”

‘Our client acted without security’

A cease-and-desist letter dated January 2026 connects Kaldine to Meintjes. Although Kaldine stopped short of confirming the document’s authenticity, she acknowledged to Daily Maverick that Meintjes served as her legal representative in a harassment and protection order matter.

Sent by Meintjes to a third party, the letter showed that either she or her firm, DVB Attorneys, was representing Kaldine during that period.

Kaldine, meanwhile, as a community representative, was involved in cracking down on “lolly lounges” – drug dens – while helping addicts caught in their cycle of abuse.

The cease-and-desist letter provided insight into Kaldine’s actions and the type of work Meintjes was doing. According to the document, in November 2025, while Kaldine was off duty, a mother called her for help.

“Our client had her team act on the call, excluding her security personnel, who [were] not present,” the letter said.

A social media post shows Kaldine accompanied by what appear to be private security personnel.

The letter alleged that at the premises that Kaldine had gone to, someone arrived “to purchase drugs/illegal substances”.

It said that the son of the woman whose call for help Kaldine had responded to then allegedly showed them “the drugs/illegal substances” he was selling.

‘Civilian arrest’

Kaldine “and her team made a civilian arrest”.

Two of the son’s relatives apparently asked whether they could accompany him and Kaldine’s team to the Eldorado Park police station, and this was agreed to.

Based on the letter, Kaldine also assisted the two relatives.

The two relatives and the son were apparently later taken back to their residence without incident.

However, a relative later opened a case of kidnapping and common assault against Kaldine’s team at the Eldorado Park police station. Allegations had surfaced accusing the team of effectively kidnapping the ill son of the woman who had asked for her help.

The letter said Kaldine and her team handed themselves over to the police, were arrested and charged, but authorities decided the case should not be prosecuted.

In December 2025, the son whom Kaldine had dealt with died – of natural causes, according to the cease-and-desist letter. It suggested that the letter’s recipient had claimed that Kaldine and her team were responsible for his death and had made defamatory social media posts.

This was the issue that the cease-and-desist letter from Meintjes aimed to address.

‘No one should have to fear for their life’

On Tuesday, Spangenberg Attorneys Inc. issued a statement about Meintjes’ “tragic passing”.

“Nadine was a former fellow university student and a colleague within the legal fraternity,” it said.

“Although she was not employed by or affiliated with Spangenberg Attorneys Inc., we acknowledge the connection we shared through our university years and the broader legal profession.

“Her tragic passing is a painful reminder that no person, and particularly no member of the legal profession, should have to fear for their life while pursuing their profession and contributing to society.” DM