In a landmark ruling that addresses historical injustices, two former apartheid-era police officers in South Africa have been found guilty of the 1987 murder of anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka. The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg delivered the verdict on Tuesday, convicting Abraham Engelbrecht and Pieter Stander, both in their sixties, while acquitting a third former officer.
The case, which remained unresolved for over three decades, was reopened following a stunning public confession in 2019 by former Reaction Unit member Johan Marais. Marais pleaded guilty to Nyoka’s killing and received a 15-year prison sentence last July.
Court documents and a 1988 pathology report reveal the brutal nature of Nyoka’s death. The student leader was shot at least twelve times when police units stormed his family home before dawn. Forensic evidence indicates he was initially shot while sitting up in bed, with subsequent shots fired into his chest, arms, and hands after he had fallen.
During apartheid, authorities cleared the officers of wrongdoing by claiming self-defense—a common tactic used to conceal political assassinations. The case was examined by South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997, but no perpetrators came forward at that time.
This conviction occurs amidst renewed efforts to address apartheid-era crimes. Recent developments include a October ruling that anti-apartheid leader Albert Luthuli was beaten to death by security police in 1967, contradicting the original finding of a train accident. Authorities have also announced new investigations into the 1977 death of Steve Biko and potential obstruction of justice by post-apartheid governments.