State triumphs as court rejects Section 174 application
According to Lumka Mahanjana, the NPA Regional spokesperson, after the State closed its case following the testimony of the witnesses, Van Den Berg and Engelbrecht brought a Section 174 application, claiming that the State had no case.
The Pretoria High Court, sitting in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court, dismissed a Section 174 application brought by accused one, former commanding officer Major Leon Louis Van Den Berg (75), and accused two, former sergeant Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht (61).
The pair sought to be discharged from the charges against them on the grounds that the State had no case.
The two, along with their co-accused, former sergeant Pieter Stander (60), face a murder charge for allegedly killing student activist and Congress of South African Students (COSAS) member Caiphus Nyoka.
It is alleged that on the evening of August 23, 1987, the three men — members of the SAPS Reaction Unit — met to plan Nyoka’s killing.
Under the command of Major Van Den Berg, a plan was devised to raid Nyoka’s home.
Also Read: 1987 Daveyton murder: Investigator details how he traced apartheid-era cops
In the early hours of August 24, 1987, at about 02:30, Stander, Engelbrecht, and other Reaction Unit members, who are also charged separately, arrived at Nyoka’s homestead and stormed his room.
They found Nyoka and three friends asleep. After identifying him, they removed the others from the room and shot him nine times. He died on the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
The State called five witnesses during the trial: Nyoka’s sisters, Alegria and Mothasi Nyoka; Exodus Nyokane, one of Nyoka’s friends present that night; Dr Rousseau, an expert witness and TRC researcher; and the investigating officer, Lieutenant Colonel Beukman.
Mahanjana said the court dismissed their application, and thereafter, Van Den Berg opted to remain silent and closed his case.
The matter was postponed to September 8–19 for the defence case of Engelbrecht and Stander.
The case against former Reaction Unit member Johan Marais (65), who pleaded guilty and was convicted of the same offence, will return to court for sentencing proceedings on June 5 and 6.
Mahanjana described the court’s decision as encouraging, noting that the State had overcome a significant hurdle in the defence’s attempt to halt the trial.
Also Read: Slain Caiphus Nyoka honoured at wreath-laying ceremony
