A former apartheid-era police officer, Johan Marais, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of 23-year-old student activist Caiphus Nyoka. The crime occurred on 24 August 1987, when Marais and a colleague broke into Nyoka’s home in Daveyton, Johannesburg, and shot him multiple times.
Nyoka was an active member of the Congress of South African Students, aligned with the African National Congress (ANC), at the time of his death. Marais pleaded guilty in 2024, stating that the incident had caused him significant emotional trauma.
The sentencing, handed down by a Johannesburg court, marks a significant moment in addressing crimes committed during South Africa’s apartheid era.
