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The judge said he hoped Johan Marais would use his sentence to reflect and reconsider testifying against his co-accused.
Anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka was murdered on 24 August 1987 at his Daveyton home. Picture: Supplied
Johan Marais has been sentenced to 15 years for the killing of anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The student activist from Daveyton, Gauteng, was killed in a confrontation with police during a raid on his backyard room on 24 August 1987.
Nyoka sustained at least 12 gunshot wounds to his head, chest and hands.
Marais, a former apartheid-era police officer, pleaded guilty to the murder of the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) activist in November 2024, claiming he was carrying out an unlawful order.
He confessed to the murder to a journalist in 2019.
Sentencing of Caiphus Nyoka murder accused
In his judgment on Thursday, Judge Mokhine “Papi” Mosopa went through the evidence of witnesses for the defence who testified as part of mitigating factors in his sentence.
The judge said the witnesses told the court that Marais had experienced bouts of depression and tried to commit suicide on three different occasions, partly due to Nyoka’s death.
“The accused was admitted to a psychiatric ward, where he was seen by a psychiatrist, psychologist and social worker but was discharged without a diagnosis,” he said.
Mosopa recounted evidence that Marais had expressed remorse for the killing.
“He feels differently now and if he could go back in time, he will never do it. He believed that the deceased at the time was a terrorist,” the judge said.
He noted that witnesses also testified that Marais was a first-time offender and did not have a previous conviction as part of mitigating factors regarding his sentence.
Mosopa also highlighted that witnesses told the court if Marais was placed under correctional supervision, he would be strictly monitored for the duration of his sentence and would be obliged to perform community service.
“After the evidence of the two witnesses, the accused then handed in a letter he wrote to the family of the deceased asking for forgiveness for his actions, dated 13 January 2025, which was admitted into evidence.”
The judge further took into account the testimony of the activist’s sister, Algeria Nyoka, who said her brother’s body was taken without the knowledge of the family after he was killed.
“They only saw a pool of blood on the bed he was sleeping on and they only saw that in the morning.”
He said Algeria testified she believed that Marais was worried about himself after his trial was separated from his co-accused – Leon Louis van den Berg, Abram Hercules Engelbrecht and Pieter Egbert Stander.
High court ruling
Mosopa later concluded that he believed that Marais was not a suitable candidate for correctional supervision.
“The sentence must fit the criminal and the crime,” he said.
The judge said rehabilitation was no longer a consideration due to Marais’s advanced age.
He told the accused that “the time has now arrived” after he claimed that he wanted to write a book about his life at the end of the trial.
“You’ll use the time to write the book and fully detail your involvement in the killing of the deceased. Also use the time to educate South Africans who are still living in the racist past to embrace democracy and live side-by-side with their fellow countrymen.”
Mosopsa added that he hoped Marais would use his jail time to reflect and change his mind about testifying against his co-accused on behalf of the state.
The judge therefore sentenced Marais to 15 years for murder.
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