Mapaballo Borotho
- Two former apartheid police officers have been found guilty of the premeditated murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka.
- The court ruled that the State successfully proved that the officers planned and executed his killing in 1987.
- The NPA says the judgment brings renewed hope for justice for the Nyoka family.
Two former apartheid police officers have been found guilty of the premeditated murder of South African student activist, Caiphus Nyoka.
Former Sergeant Pieter Stander and Major Leon Louis van den Berg appeared before the Pretoria High Court sitting in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Van den Berg was acquitted on some of the charges but both men remain convicted for their role in the killing.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the matter has been postponed to 11 December 2025 for a bail application, pending sentencing.
In the meantime, both men remain in custody.
Mahanjana explained that on the evening of 23 August 1987, the two officers, who were part of the South African Police Reaction Unit, met to plan Nyoka’s killing. They devised a plan to raid his home.
“In the early hours of 24 August 1987, at around 02h30, Stander, Engelbrecht, and other members of the Reaction Unit, who are charged separately, stormed Nyoka’s room, where he was sleeping alongside three friends.
After identifying him, they removed his friends from the room and shot him nine times. Nyoka died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds,” said Mahanjana.
When handing down judgment, the court found that the State had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt. Mahanjana added that the outcome is an encouraging step toward justice for the Nyoka family.
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