PRESS RELEASE
To: All Media
ATT: News Editors, Human Rights Reporters
For Immediate Release
30 April 2024
The Nyoka’s murder trial postponed to 18 November 2024
Press Statement by the Foundation for Human Rights and Webber Wentzel
On 30 April 2024 the Gauteng High Court, sitting at the Benoni Magistrates’ Court granted an application brought by Pieter Stander, the fourth accused in the murder of anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka, and ordered the postponement of the trial and the relaxation of Stander’s conditions of his release on warning.
The trial has now been set to run from 18 November 2024 to 6 December 2024. Presiding Judge, Botha AJ, ordered the release of Stander’s passport on condition that he pays 350,000 ZAR as bail. On payment of the bail, Stander can travel back to Iraq, to continue his work as a private military operator, pending the commencement of the trial.
The Court rejected the arguments of the state, which strenuously opposed both the postponement of the trial and the return of Stander’s passport. The state argued that Stander’s counsel was aware of the 22 April 2024 trial date when he was released on warning on 5 April 2024 and had raised no objection to the commencement of the trial. Furthermore, the state believes that Stander is a flight risk and should remain in the country until the trial is finalised. The state intends to appeal against the decision to amend the conditions of Stander’s release on warning.
The Foundation for Human Rights and Webber Wentzel recently welcomed the arrest and subsequent indictment of Pieter Stander who was taken into custody at O.R. Tambo International Airport on 5 April 2024. Following his release on warning, Stander, along with the other accused namely, Johan Marais, Leon Louis Van Den Berg, and Abram Hercules Engelbrecht, were scheduled to stand trial, facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and defeating the ends of justice on 22 April 2024.
The decision to relax the conditions of Stander’s release on warning is a blow for the Nyoka family, who have waited 37 years for truth and justice. The FHR and Webber Wentzel are concerned about the dangerous precedent that the Court set by ordering the release of Stander’s passport to allow him to return to Iraq whilst he is standing trial for an apartheid murder. The decision to release Stander’s passport holds inherent risks, which could lead to further delays in the start of the trial. The Court simply failed to take into account the risks, the interest of justice, and the legitimate rights of the victims. End/
A background of the case
Caiphus Nyoka, born on 9 February 1964, played a significant role as a leader of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) in Daveyton, Gauteng. He endured harassment and multiple arrests under oppressive legislation by the East Rand security police. Nyoka met a tragic end on 24 August 1987, when he was fatally shot at his family home in Daveyton by a police unit established to ‘deal with terrorism’.
In 1988 and 1989, an inquest held before the Benoni Magistrate’s Court resulted in Magistrate JP Myburgh ruling that the police had acted in self-defense, despite evidence presented by the family suggesting otherwise.
Nyoka’s sister, Alegria, sought justice for her brother’s killing and appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 1997. The TRC found that members of the East Rand security police “executed Mr. Nyoka in cold blood” and referred the case to the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) for further investigation and prosecution. No-one applied for amnesty in this matter.
The case resurfaced in 2019 when Marais confessed to a journalist that the police had murdered Nyoka. Following this confession, the FHR and others prompted a renewed investigation. With the Nyoka family’s perseverance and support from various quarters, the NPA eventually brought formal charges against the accused after three years, underscoring the complexities of prosecuting apartheid-era crimes.
For media interviews or more information contact:
Ms Odette Geldenhuys or Mr Jos Venter, legal representatives for the Nyoka Family, at odette.geldenhuys@webberwentzel.com and jos.venter@webberwentzel.com
Ms Gina Snyman, the Unfinished Business of the TRC Programme, at gsnyman@fhr.org.za or 072 1807 524 or Dr Zaid Kimmie Executive Director of FHR, at zkimmie@fhr.org.za or 082 883 4934
For more information on the “Unfinished Business of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission” Programme that is run by the Foundation for Human Rights consult our website: https://unfinishedtrc.co.za