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Court building
The High Court in Pretoria sitting at the Benoni Magistrate’s Court has postponed the Caiphus Nyoka murder case to November for closing arguments.
Leon Louis van den Berg, Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht and Pieter Egbert Stander are accused of killing Nyoka, while he was asleep at his family home in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni in August 1987.
[WATCH] The Gauteng High Court sitting in Benoni has postponed the Caiphus Nyoka murder case to November for closing arguments. Three former Security Branch and East Rand Reaction Unit members face charges over the 1987 killing of a student activist. pic.twitter.com/L7SnHeCPQD
— SABC News (@SABCNews) September 8, 2025
Remembering Caiphus Nyoka a fearless student leader from Daveyton, active in COSAS, SAYCO and TRASCO, and SRC President at Mabuya High School. On 24 August 1987, he was killed by an apartheid police unit. His courage and sacrifice remain a lasting symbol of youth in the struggle… pic.twitter.com/SZZ9SMoAEw
— Gauteng ANC (@GautengANC) August 24, 2025
The murder was part of the apartheid regime’s clamp down political activists. The fourth accused, Johan Marais, a former officer with the East Rand Reaction Unit, pleaded guilty to murdering the student activist. Marais was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment.
Judge Ismail Mohammed is expected to hand down judgment on the 2nd of December.
[15 YEARS’ DIRECT IMPRISONMENT FOR ONE OF CAIPHUS NYOKA KILLERS]
The Pretoria High Court handed down a sentence of 15 years ‘ direct imprisonment to a former Section Leader of the Reaction Unit 6 in Dunnottar, Johan Marais (66). This is after Marais pleaded guilty and was… pic.twitter.com/A2iHHfyMjs
— Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (@CrimeWatch_RSA) July 10, 2025
“They will hand their arguments to your lawyers, and then your lawyers have three weeks within which to file their heads of arguments, and they will do so on or before the, 15th of October 2025,” says Judge Mohammed.
He says once they are done with that, the matter is then postponed to the 12th of November.
“I have to warn each of you to kindly return to this court on the 12th of November, 2025. On that date, the parties will argue as to what they seek from the court. The court has also arranged a date, because this case would have by then been in excess of a year on the roll so that it will hand down its judgment on the second of December,” he adds.
