PRESS RELEASE
To: All Media
ATT: News Editors, Human Rights Reporters
For Immediate Release
14 July 2025
The killer of anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment
Press Statement by the Nyoka Family, Foundation for Human Rights and Webber Wentzel Public Interest Law Department
On 10 July 2025, the Pretoria High Court sentenced Johan Marais, a former police officer who was attached to Reaction Unit 6 based at Dunnottar, to 15 years direct imprisonment for the 1987 killing of Caiphus Nyoka, a prominent student leader and anti-apartheid activist in the East Rand and the then Transvaal Province. Nyoka was a member of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), the South African Youth Congress (SAYCO), Organiser of the Transvaal Students Congress (TRASCO) in the East Rand, and President of the Student Representative Council at Mabuya High School in Daveyton, Benoni.
Marais, who in 1987 held the rank of Sergeant and fulfilled the role of section commander at Reaction Unit 6, failed to apply to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for amnesty for the murder of Nyoka. The Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act held at the time that apartheid era crimes that were not amnestied by the TRC had to be investigated with the aim of prosecuting such crimes. Following a hearing before the TRC Human Rights Violations Committee on 5 February 1997, the TRC formally recognised Nyoka as a victim of gross human rights violations. The TRC’s decision was informed by a substantive submission that was made by Nyoka’s eldest sister, Alegria Nyoka, which contained various records, documents, affidavits and newspaper clippings relating to Nyoka’s killing and the subsequent inquest that were collected by their late father, Moses Nyoka, before his passing in 1992.
The Nyoka family, together with the Foundation for Human Rights (FHR) and Webber Wentzel Public Interest Law department, welcome the historic sentencing of Marais and hope it marks the beginning of South Africa’s long-overdue journey toward justice and healing for victims of apartheid era crimes.
In a detailed judgment, Judge Mokhine Mosopa reminded South Africans that apartheid, and the inhuman acts resulting from the policies and practices of apartheid, was a crime again humanity that caused serious harm not only to the Nyoka family but to the majority of South Africans who suffered under the draconian and racist laws and policies of the apartheid regime. The Judge was not persuaded that Marais truly appreciated the consequences of his actions and held that Nyoka’s right to life was brutally taken in defence of apartheid.
Judge Mosopa found that Marais did not fully take the court into his confidence and that his expression of remorse was unconvincing. The finding was informed by the fact that Marais had many opportunities to come forward with the truth over the past three decades; prior to his conviction he never approached the Nyoka family to apologise for the harm that he had caused; and he refused to cooperate with the State by giving evidence in the trial of his co-accused.
In imposing a sentence that serves two purposes, deterrence and retribution, the Judge opted for a custodial sentence, on the reasoning that it would provide Marais time to reflect on his involvement in Nyoka’s killing. The Judge impressed on Marais to use his time in prison to educate South Africans who are living in the racist past to embrace democracy; and to influence those police officers who killed and were the cause forceful disappearances during apartheid and who are not yet detected, to come forward and reveal the much-needed truth of their involvement in the crimes.
The Nyoka family has welcomed the sentence, which brings a sense of closure following their 37-year pursuit of justice. The siblings of Caiphus Nyoka, Alegria, Sarah, Nkateko, Jobia, Mothasi, and Titus, described the moment as bittersweet, as their parents died without ever knowing the truth of what happened on the night of 24 August 1987. Alegria Nyoka, the eldest of the siblings, said, “I think his spirit fought for justice… so we are happy that eventually one of the killers confessed and today [has] been sentenced.”
The perseverance of the Nyoka family, combined with years of legal support and sustained advocacy by the FHR and Webber Wentzel, led to indictments being issued against Nyoka’s killers in 2022 and 2024, respectively. On 12 November 2024, Marais formally pleaded guilty and was convicted of murder. The sentencing concludes the criminal proceedings against Marais.
The trial of Johan Marais’ co-accused — Leon Louis Van Den Berg, Abram Hercules Engelbrecht, and Pieter Egbert Stander — will resume in the Benoni Magistrates’ Court from 8 to 19 September 2025.
ENDS
Media queries:
Foundation for Human Rights: Sesetu Holomisa, sholomisa@fhr.org.za / 071 391 0043
Webber Wentzel: Jos Venter, Jos.Venter@webberwentzel.com / 021 431 7017
