Two former apartheid police officers, Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht, 61, and former Sergeant, Pieter Stander, 60, were on Tuesday found guilty of killing student activist Caiphus Nyoka in 1987.
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria sitting in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg found that the state was able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt against the officers while a former commanding officer, Major Leon Louis Van Den Berg, 75, was acquitted on the charges.
When he was killed, Nyoka was part of several organisations which he used to publicly challenge apartheid policies.
Amongst others, he was a student activist and a member of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) and was president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at Mabuya High School.
He was fatally shot nine times on August 24, 1987, in Daveyton, Springs.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said members of the security branch and other units within the South African Police Service (SAPS), met prior to discuss a plan to kill Nyoka
“A plan to raid his home was devised. In the early hours of August 27, 1987, at about 2:30am, Stander and Engelbrecht and other members of the Reaction Unit who are also charged separately, arrived at Nyoka’s homestead and stormed his room. They found him sleeping with three of his friends. After identifying him, they removed the friends from the room and thereafter proceeded to shoot him 9 times. He died on the scene,” said Mahanjana.
Mahanjana said the NPA will study the judgment in respect of the acquittal of Louis Van Den Berg.
“This court outcome is encouraging as this is a right step towards providing justice for the Nyoka family,” she said.
Last year, Johan Marais was also found guilty of killing Nyoka.
The 66-year-old pleaded guilty to the murder in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
At the time, Marais was a Section Leader of the Reaction Unit 6 in Dunnottar, Springs.
The matter was postponed to December 11, 2025.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
IOL News
Get your news on the go. Download the latest IOL App for Android and IOS now.
