South Africa: Ex-Apartheid Police to Remain Behind Bars Pending Bail Decision

Two former apartheid-era police officers, who were convicted of the premeditated murder of Congress of South African Students (COSAS) member Caiphus Nyoka, will remain in custody pending judgment in their bail application.

Former Sergeant, Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht and former Sergeant Pieter Stander (60) were convicted of the 1987 murder of Nyoka earlier this month while a third accused, Major Leon Louis Van Den Berg, was acquitted.

"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," National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said on Thursday.

Nyoka - who was a prominent anti-apartheid activist and student leader - was killed in a hail of bullets in his family home in 1987.

"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," Mahanjana said.

Judgement on the bail matter has been reserved while sentencing proceedings are to be heard in July 2026.

Read the original article on SAnews.gov.za.