Editor’s Note: The video attached to the story contains graphic content
JOHANNESBURG - A routine check-up text between husband and wife has now become the final memory for Keegan Gallichan who is in mourning.
Gillichan’s wife, Chinette Gallichan, was the attorney gunned down at the Johannesburg CBD on Monday.
The lawyer was shot several times on her way to the CCMA building in Johannesburg.
She was involved in a labour dispute on behalf of mining company Sibanye-Stillwater at the time of her death.
READ | Woman shot dead in Joburg CBD
With tears in his eyes and a quavering voice, Gillichan recalled the final moments before he learned that his wife had been murdered.
He said the day went by as normal before getting ready for work.
“It was the perfect normal morning. We woke up, we both got ready for the day. I said goodbye. Thankfully, I could kiss her goodbye," Gallichan.
He said that Monday, the day proceeded as normal, and he was even able to send her a message; little did he know that that would be the last time he would hear from her.
“I spoke to her around about 9 o'clock, just with a general, you know, have a good day, and please let me know when you're there. And that was the last I heard from her.”
Gillichan said he first learned of the shooting via a Facebook channel but hoped it was not his wife.
“I went on there, and it said, female attorney killed in the street corner. And my heart sank. I just thought this couldn't be this. I just left the office immediately.”
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It took him about an hour to arrive at the scene from Pretoria, only to be met with his wife lying lifeless on the street.
“I ran towards her. The police stopped me because obviously, it's an ongoing investigation. And then in the vehicle to my right, I could see her cell phone, car keys, and her ID card, which they then gave to me. I then knew that, sadly, it was my wife that had died that day,” he said.
Overwhelmed by emotions, Gillichan said the sight of the incident left him feeling hurt, especially how she was killed.
“It's dark. It hurts. Nobody at any stage deserves to die. Death is horrible as it is. But the format of what took place, it just feels so barbaric,” he said.
He said as a family, he cannot think of the motive behind the shooting but is convinced Chinette was targeted.
According to police, preliminary reports indicate that the woman was allegedly followed by two unknown suspects who opened fire on her before fleeing the scene on foot.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko said no arrests have been made at this stage and investigations into the circumstances of the shooting continue.