MEDIA ALERT

To: All Media

ATT: News Editors, Human Rights Reporters

For Immediate Release

16 July 2026

Sentencing Proceedings in the Caiphus Nyoka Murder Trial to Commence on 20 July 2026

The sentencing proceedings of former apartheid-era police officers Abraham Engelbrecht (Benoni Security Branch) and Pieter Stander (East Rand Reaction Unit) will commence on 20 July 2026 in the Benoni Magistrates’ Court, where the Johannesburg High Court is sitting. The Court convicted Engelbrecht and Stander of the 1987 murder of student leader Caiphus Nyoka on 2 December 2025.  A third accused, former commander of the Benoni Security Branch Leon van den Berg, was acquitted.

The proceedings on Monday will start with the court hearing the State’s application for leave to appeal the acquittal of Leon van den Berg before proceeding with the sentencing.

Former East Rand Reaction Unit officer Johan Marais, who pleaded guilty to Nyoka’s murder, was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment by the Pretoria High Court in July 2025.

Nyoka, a prominent student leader and anti-apartheid activist from Daveyton, was murdered in his family home on 24 August 1987.

On 19 May 2026, President Cyril Ramaphosa posthumously awarded Nyoka the National Order of Luthuli in Silver in recognition of his contribution to the struggle against apartheid. The National Order of Luthuli is an honour that recognises exceptional contributions to the struggle for democracy, justice, peace, or nation-building.

The ongoing proceedings mark another important milestone in the family’s decades-long pursuit of justice following renewed investigations that led to criminal charges in 2022.

For media queries:

Jessie Waldman, Foundation for Human Rights, at jwaldman@fhr.org.za or 0786448258