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caiphus nyoka

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Former apartheid-era police officer Johan Marais has been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Pretoria High Court for the 1987 murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka[1]. Marais pleaded guilty to the killing, which occurred at Nyoka’s home in Daveyton when Marais was part of a police unit allegedly tasked with eliminating individuals labelled as terrorists by the apartheid regime[1]. His co-accused, Leon Louis van den Berg and Abraham Engelbrecht, continue to maintain their innocence and will stand trial separately[1].

Nyoka, a prominent leader in the COSAS (Congress of South African Students) and regional coordinator for Transco East Rand, was just 23 when he was shot and killed in the early morning hours of 24 August 1987[1][7]. Witness accounts and activists who were with him that night have consistently stated that police broke into the house, confronted Nyoka, ordered others out of the room, and then shot him multiple times while he was unarmed[2][5]. After the shooting, police reportedly wrote on the board at Daveyton police station: “999 Lemba Street – Caiphus Nyoka executed – Hands of Death,” indicating a planned mission rather than a spontaneous action[2][8].

The sentencing marks a significant moment for cases related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), with National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana expressing hope that the sentence sets a precedent for similar TRC cases[1]. In court, Marais expressed remorse, admitting Nyoka was unarmed and that he acknowledges executing an unlawful instruction[5]. He also wrote a letter to the Nyoka family asking for forgiveness[3].

During sentencing, Judge Papi Mosopa took into account Marais’s guilty plea, his expressions of remorse, and testimony from Nyoka’s family, including his sister Algeria, who recounted the trauma of discovering her brother’s body was taken without the family’s knowledge[3]. Marais’s trial was separated from the remaining accused, whose hearings are scheduled to continue[4].

Nyoka’s murder, emblematic of the brutal suppression of anti-apartheid activists, remains a powerful reminder of the struggle for justice in South Africa[6][8].

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