Latest news with #Nyoka
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- The Citizen
Court dismisses bid to drop charges in 1987 student activist Nyoka's murder case
The court rejected claims of no evidence in the case of apartheid-era officers accused of murdering Caiphus Nyoka in 1987. The Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni has rejected claims of no evidence in the case of two former apartheid-era officers accused of murdering student activist Caiphus Nyoka in 1987. The court ruled that there is enough evidence to proceed with the trial of two ex-officers accused of killing the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) member and student activist. This follows a Section 174 application brought under the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 by former commanding officer Major Leon Louis Van Den Berg (75) and former Sergeant Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht (61). The two, along with former Sergeant Pieter Stander, 60, are facing a murder charge in connection with Nyoka's death. Nyoka gunned down According to the allegations, the three members of the South African Police Service's Reaction Unit got together on the evening of 23 August, 1987 to plot Nyoka's murder. Van Den Berg allegedly led the planning of a raid on his residence. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said at around 2am on 24 August, 1987, Stander, Engelbrecht, and other Reaction Unit members – who are also charged separately – arrived at Nyoka's home and broke into his room. ALSO READ: NPA reopens inquests into Chief Albert Luthuli and Griffiths Mxenge's deaths 'They found him sleeping with three of his friends. After identifying him, they removed the friends from the room and thereafter proceeded to shoot him nine times,' Mahanjana said. Nyoka died on the scene from multiple gunshot wounds. Trial proceedings During the trial, the state called five witnesses, including Nyoka's sisters Alegria and Mothasi Nyoka and one of his three friends who were present on the night of the incident, Gugulakhe Exodus Nyokane. The court also heard testimony from expert witness Dr Nicky Rousseau, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) researcher, and the investigating officer, Lieutenant Petrus Colonel Beukman. After five witnesses testified, the state closed its case. Accused application dismissed 'Thereafter accused number one (Van Den Berg) and two (Engelbrecht) brought a section 174 application claiming that the state had no case,' Mahanjana said. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa launches commission of inquiry into apartheid-era justice delays 'After the court dismissed their application, accused number three (Stander) opted to remain silent and closed his case.' The court has postponed the matter to 8 to19 September for the defence cases of Engelbrecht and Stander. Sentencing The sentencing proceedings for Johan Marais, 65, a former member of the Reaction Unit 6 in Dunnottar who was prosecuted and found guilty of the same offences, have been rescheduled for 5 to 6 June. 'This court outcome is encouraging as the state overcomes the first hurdle that was presented by the defence in order to prevent the trial from proceeding,' Mahanjana concluded. 'The state will continue to put forward a formidable case to ensure that justice is served against such atrocities of the apartheid era.'
IOL News
23-05-2025
- IOL News
Court rejects discharge application from apartheid-era cops in Caiphus Nyoka murder case
Student activist Caiphus Nyoka in 1987. Image: Facebook/Ahmed Timol The High Court in Pretoria, sitting in Benoni, has dismissed an application brought by the accused, two former apartheid-era police officers, who were seeking discharge in the murder case of student activist Caiphus Nyoka. In the application, accused number one, a former commanding officer, Major Leon Louis Van Den Berg, 75, and accused number two, a former Sergeant Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht, 61, sought discharge, insisting that the state has no case against them. 'The two, together with their co-accused, former Sergeant Pieter Stander, 60, are facing a charge of murder for allegedly killing a student activist and a member of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) Caiphus Nyoka,' said Lumka Mahanjana, Gauteng regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). It is alleged that in the evening of 23 August 1987, the three, who were members of the Reaction Unit within the South African Police Service, met to discuss a plan to kill Nyoka. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. 'A plan to raid his home was devised, under the commanding officer Major Van den Berg. In the early hours of 24 August 1987 at about 02h30, Stander and Engelbrecht and other members of the Reaction Unit who are also charged separately, arrived at Nyoka's homestead and stormed Nyoka's room,' said Mahanjana. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ 'They found him sleeping with three of his friends. After identifying him, they removed the friends from the room and thereafter proceeded to shoot him nine times.' The young activist died on the scene as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. 'During the trial, the state called five witnesses, two Caiphus Nyokas sisters, Alegria and Mothasi Nyoka, Gugulakhe Exodus Nyokane one of the three friends Nyoka was with on the night of the incident, an expert witness who was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) researcher DR Rousseau and the investigating officer of the case Lieutenant Colonel Beukman,' said Mahanjana. After the five witnesses testified, the state closed its case. Thereafter, Engelbrecht brought a section 174 application, claiming that the state had no case. After the court dismissed the application, Van Den Berg opted to remain silent and closed his case. The matter was postponed to 8-19 September 2025 for the defence case of Engelbrecht and Stander. The case against the former section member of the Reaction Unit 6 in Dunnottar (Springs), Johan Marais, 65, who was charged and convicted for the same offence was postponed to 5 and 6 June 2025 for sentencing proceedings. 'This court outcome is encouraging as the state overcomes the first hurdle that was presented by the defense in order to prevent the trial from proceeding. The State will continue to put forward a formidable case to ensure that justice is served against such atrocities of the apartheid era. Last year, IOL reported that Marais, was found guilty of killing student activist Caiphus Nyoka in 1987. This comes after the 65-year-old pleaded guilty to the murder in the High Court in Pretoria. When he was killed, Nyoka was part of several organisations which used to publicly challenge apartheid policies. IOL News
The Citizen
18-05-2025
- The Citizen
1987 Daveyton murder: Investigator details how he traced apartheid-era cops
Lieutenant Colonel Petrus Beukman, the investigating officer in the case against three former apartheid-era police officers accused of murdering Daveyton student activist Caiphus Nyoka, testified in court on Wednesday about how he tracked down the accused decades after the alleged crime. Benoni City Times reports that Beukman took the stand in the Pretoria High Court, sitting at the Benoni Magistrate's Court, in the trial of Leon Louis van den Berg, Abram Hercules Engelbrecht, and Pieter Stander. The trio face charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and defeating the ends of justice. They have all pleaded not guilty. Their co-accused, Johan Marais, who pleaded guilty to the murder and was convicted in November at the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, is awaiting sentencing. Nyoka, a leader of the Congress of South African Students in Daveyton and a co-ordinator for Transco East Rand, was fatally shot on August 24, 1987. He was allegedly targeted by a police unit established to combat 'terrorism' during apartheid. Testimony During Beukman's testimony, he said he traced the inquest docket to the Springs SAPS and then went to Daveyton SAPS but had no luck. He decided to visit the crime scene, Nyoka's home in Daveyton, where he left a note after finding no one at home. 'I went to see Nyoka's sister, Alegria, in Springs and told her I'm the new investigating officer in the case. I asked if she could assist with information about the investigation, and she brought a brown envelope that contained documents from the Human Rights Foundation and her statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,' he said. Beukman said this gave him some direction in his investigation. He subsequently took statements from Alegria, her sister, her brother, and the three friends who were in the room with Nyoka when the incident occurred. He then made contact with Engelbrecht, and they met in Germiston, where he informed him that he was a murder accused and read him his rights before taking a statement. On another day, Beukman went to Van den Berg's house in Springs and took his statement as well. He asked Van Den Berg about Stander's whereabouts and was told that Stander was out of the country. 'I approached the SAPS human resources management department to help me trace him,' Beukman said. He contacted Crime Intelligence to request a profile on Stander. It was then that he learned Stander had been moving between South Africa and Iraq, where he was working as a soldier. Beukman applied for a warrant of arrest, and in April last year, Stander was arrested upon his return at OR Tambo International Airport. Meanwhile, the courtroom was filled with members of the ANC, civil society groups, and Nyoka's family members. The trial continues, with further witnesses expected to testify in the coming days. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Eyewitness News
15-05-2025
- Eyewitness News
Caiphus Nyoka murder case: Defence to apply for discharge
JOHANNESBURG - Lawyers for an apartheid general accused of the murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka say he will be applying for a discharge. Leon van den Berg (75) is one of three former police officers charged with the murder of 23-year-old Nyoka. Nyoka was shot nine times at his Daveyton homes in 1987. His murder is among the cases referred to the National Prosecuting Authority by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Nyoka was brutally gunned down by police in his home in 1987. Van den Berg was a police general and the most senior officer on the scene, who was leading the operation. But he has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. This is despite one of his co-accused, another former cop, Johan Marais, pleading guilty to the crime. Now that the State has closed its case, van den Berg wants to apply for a discharge in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Such an application is brought when the accused believes the state has no evidence against him that could lead to a conviction. Arguments on this application will be heard on Monday.
