Three Ex-Apartheid Police Officers Plead Not Guilty to 1987 Murder of Activist Caiphus Nyoka
Three former police officers from the apartheid era have pleaded not guilty to the 1987 murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka. Pieter Stander, Leon van den Berg, and Abram Engelbrecht appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Benoni on Tuesday morning, denying charges related to Nyoka’s killing.
Nyoka, a 23-year-old student and member of the Congress of South African Students, was shot nine times in the early hours of 24 August 1987 in Daveyton on the East Rand. The State alleges the officers acted with common purpose in carrying out the murder.
Johan Marais, a former riot cop, had previously pleaded guilty to the crime and directly implicated his co-accused. Marais testified that he was part of a joint operation between the riot unit and the Benoni Security Branch to arrest Nyoka, who had been identified as a threat to the apartheid regime due to his activism.
Marais recounted that Engelbrecht, the lead officer in the operation, instructed him to “take out” Nyoka when they were alone in the room with him. Marais said he understood this order as a directive to kill Nyoka. He and Stander both opened fire on Nyoka, despite him being unarmed and not posing a threat.
The State has indicated it will lead evidence from Nyoka’s family, and plans an inspection of the family home as part of the ongoing trial.