Nearly 38 years after Congress of South African Students (COSAS) activist Caiphus Nyoka was abducted, tortured and executed, the Johannesburg High Court on Monday found two former Security Branch officers guilty of his premeditated murder.
Abraham “Blackie” Engelbrecht, 61, and Pieter Stander, 60, were convicted for the killing that took place on 1 August 1987 in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg.
The court heard how Nyoka, then 19, was kidnapped from a bus stop, brutally assaulted at a police station, driven to a remote spot near the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory, shot in the head and his body destroyed with explosives in an attempt to erase evidence of the crime.
A third accused, former Vlakplaas unit commander Louis van den Berg, 75, was acquitted.
Key evidence included testimony from notorious former “askari” Joe Mamasela, who turned state witness, as well as ballistic and forensic findings that linked the crime to the Security Branch.
Delivering judgment, Judge Ramarumo Monama said the State had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Engelbrecht and Stander acted with common purpose and premeditation.
Nyoka’s family, who have fought for justice since the late 1980s, wept in court as the verdict was read.
Speaking outside court, Nyoka’s sister, Sarah Nyoka, said: “Today my brother can finally rest. This pain has lasted almost four decades, but the truth has prevailed.”
The National Prosecuting Authority hailed the outcome as another breakthrough in prosecuting apartheid-era political killings. Spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the conviction “reaffirms that no crime against humanity will remain unpunished, no matter how much time has passed”.
Sentencing proceedings are expected to commence in early 2026.
The Nyoka case is one of a handful of “legacy” apartheid crimes that have reached trial in recent years, following successful prosecutions in the Ahmed Timol, Cradock Four and Pebco Three matters.