TWO APARTHEID-ERA POLICE OFFICERS CONVICTED OF THE MURDER OF CAIPHUS NYOKA REMANDED IN CUSTODY
11 DECEMBER 2025
TWO APARTHEID-ERA POLICE OFFICERS CONVICTED OF THE MURDER OF CAIPHUS NYOKA REMANDED IN CUSTODY
Two former apartheid-era police officers, ex-Sergeant Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht (64), and ex-Sergeant Pieter Stander (62), who were convicted of the premeditated murder of Congress of South African Students (COSAS) member Caiphus Nyoka on 02 December 2025, have been remanded in custody pending judgment in their bail application. On the evening of 23 August 1987, Engelbrecht and Stander, both members of the Reaction Unit within the then South African Police, met to plan the killing of Nyoka.
They devised a plan to raid his home. In the early hours of 24 August 1987, at approximately 02h30, Stander, Engelbrecht, and other Reaction Unit members (who are charged separately) arrived at Nyoka’s homestead and stormed his room. They found him sleeping with three friends. After identifying Nyoka, they removed his friends from the room and proceeded to shoot him nine times. He died on the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
Following their conviction, the two applied for bail pending sentencing. In affidavits before the court, they claimed to suffer from various health conditions and stated that they are financial providers for their families. The State opposed their release, arguing that both men were convicted of a serious offence, they pose a flight risk, particularly Stander, who has previously worked outside South Africa and failed to fully disclose potential assets abroad, despite having worked in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2015.
The Judge in the Johannesburg High Court reserved judgment on their bail application and postponed the matter to 20–24 July 2026 for sentencing proceedings, which will be heard in the Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni.
Issued by:
Lumka Mahanjana
NPA Regional Spokesperson
Gauteng Division: Pretoria
073 002 0000