File
A former section leader of a reaction unit in the former apartheid police has been found guilty of the murder of an anti-apartheid activist in 1987.
The National Prosecuting Authority said 65-year-old Johan Marais pleaded guilty to the murder of Caiphus Nyoka, a Cosas student activist who was shot nine times in August that year.
Other former policemen, Sergeant Pieter Stander, Sergeant Abram Hercules Engelbrecht, and other members of the Reaction Unit, were charged separately and will still appear in court.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, said after the guilty plea was read into the record, Marais was released on R5000 bail.
Some of the conditions include that he should not interfere with state witnesses and that he should not communicate with the other three co-accused.
“He was also ordered not to leave the jurisdiction of Springs without informing the investigating officer, and he should hand in his passport to the investigating officer and not apply for a new one,” she said.
The matter was postponed to 27 January 2025 for a psychological report.
The trial against the three other accused in the matter will start at Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni on 18 November until 06 December 2024.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed this conviction, which reflects the commitment to ensuring accountability for atrocious crimes that were referred to the NPA by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
