US EditionNews24 | UPDATE | Former Apartheid Cop Gets 15 Years for 1987 Murder of Student Activist
DAVEYTON, SOUTH AFRICA, JUL 10 – Johan Marais was sentenced to 15 years for killing anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka in 1987, a case highlighting efforts to address apartheid-era crimes, prosecutors said.
- On 10 July 2025, Johan Marais, a former police officer from the apartheid era, was handed a 15-year prison term by the Gauteng High Court for the fatal shooting of Daveyton student activist Caiphus Nyoka in 1987.
- Marais pleaded guilty in November 2024, admitting the killing occurred on 24 August 1987 under apartheid regime orders during a planned raid by a secret police unit targeting anti-apartheid activists.
- Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on August 24, 1987, Marais and other reaction unit officers entered Nyoka's home, removed his companions from his bedroom, and shot Nyoka nine times, causing his immediate death.
- Judge Papi Mosopa ruled rehabilitation was not a consideration due to Marais's advanced age and ordered him to use his prison time to write a book educating South Africans about apartheid crimes.
- The sentencing marks partial closure, as three co-accused remain on trial, and it reinforces ongoing efforts to address apartheid-era offenses while the National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the sentence.
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Apartheid top-cop gets 15 years for Caiphus Nyoka murder
Former apartheid police officer, Johan Marais, has been sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment. He was charged for the murder of student activist, Caiphus Nyoka. Nyoka was killed on 24 August 1987. At the time, Marais was the section leader of the Reaction Unit 6 in Dunnottar. The unit was a counter-terrorist force with the South African Police Service. “The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence of 15 years,” said NPA spokesper…
·Johannesburg, South Africa
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left1Leaning Right3Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Right
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources lean Right
50% Right
L 17%
C 33%
R 50%
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