PRESS RELEASE
To: All Media
ATT: News Editors, Human Rights Reporters
For Immediate Release
02 September 2025
The Trial of Caiphus Nyoka’s Murderers to Resume in the Gauteng High Court, Benoni, from 8–19 September 2025
Issued by the Foundation for Human Rights and Webber Wentzel
The murder trial of Leon Louis van den Berg, Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht and Pieter Egbert Stander will resume from 8 to 19 September 2025 in the Gauteng High Court sitting at the Benoni Magistrates Court. The former Benoni Security Branch and East Rand Reaction Unit officers are charged with the murder of Caiphus Nyoka, a student activist who was killed at his home in Daveyton, Benoni on 24 August 1987. They are alleged to have participated in the murder as part of the apartheid government’s campaign against political activists.
The trial resumes after the High Court dismissed the applications brought by Van Den Berg and Engelbrecht who sought to be discharged on the basis that the state had failed to prove a case against them. The Court found there was sufficient evidence for the trial to proceed.
Before closing its case, the state has led the evidence of five witnesses including Nyoka’s sisters, one of his close friends, a TRC researcher and the investigating officer. Following the dismissal of his discharge application, Van Den Berg chose not to testify and he closed his case. The defence for Engelbrecht and Stander is expected to proceed with their cases when the trial resumes on 8 September. The court might hear their version of what transpired on 24 August 1987.
Separately, a fourth accused, Johan Marais, a former police officer of the East Rand Reaction Unit, pleaded guilty to Nyoka’s murder and was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment by the Pretoria High Court on 10 July 2025. Marais has since applied for leave to appeal his sentence. The appeal judgement has been reserved.
The Foundation for Human Rights and Webber Wentzel remain committed to supporting the Nyoka family’s long-standing pursuit of justice for Caiphus Nyoka.
For media queries:
Jos Venter, Webber Wentzel, at jos.venter@webberwentzel.com or 021 431 7017
Alex Mailola, FHR, at amailola@fhr.org.za or 0 79 912 5809
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Background
Caiphus Nyoka was a prominent student leader in the East Rand and the then Transvaal Province. He 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.
On 24 August 1987, Nyoka was shot and killed at his family home by members of a police unit tasked with suppressing anti-apartheid activism.
An inquest held in 1988 and 1989 before Magistrate JP Myburgh found that police had acted in self-defence and their action was justifiable, despite contrary evidence from the Nyoka family.
In 1997, Caiphus’ mother, Saroma Nyoka, and his sister, Alegria Nyoka, approached the TRC to seek justice and to unearth the truth behind Caiphus’ killing. None of the police officers involved in Caiphus’ killing applied for amnesty.
In 2019, Johan Marais confessed to a journalist that the killing had been a targeted police operation and that he had killed Caiphus in cold blood on 24 August 1987. This led to renewed calls for accountability. Following years of pressure and investigation, the NPA laid charges in 2022. On 12 November 2024, Marais formally pleaded guilty and was convicted of the murder. He was sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment on 10 July 2025.
