Mapaballo Borotho
- Two former apartheid police officers convicted of murdering student activist Caiphus Nyoka will remain behind bars over Christmas and New Year’s.
- Their bail application was opposed by the State, which argued they pose a flight risk.
- Sentencing is set for July 2026 in the Pretoria High Court.
Two former apartheid police officers convicted of the premeditated murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka will spend Christmas and New Year’s Eve behind bars after their bid for bail failed.
Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht (64) and Pieter Stander (62) will remain in custody while they await sentencing.
They were found guilty of planning to kill Nyoka on 02 December 2025.
On the evening of 23 August 1987, Engelbrecht and Stander, then members of the Reaction Unit of the former South African Police, met to plan Nyoka’s killing, said NPA’s spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana
Lumka Mahanjana says the pair applied for bail pending sentencing following their conviction on 2 December 2025.
“In affidavits before the court, they claimed to suffer from various health conditions and argued that they are financial providers for their families,” Mahanjana said.
The State opposed their release, arguing that the two men were convicted of a serious offence and pose a flight risk, particularly Stander, who has previously worked outside South Africa and failed to fully disclose potential assets abroad after working in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2015.
The Judge in the Johannesburg High Court has reserved judgment on the bail application.
Sentencing proceedings are scheduled for 20–24 July 2026 and will be heard in the Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni.
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