A court in Pretoria has found ex-police officer Johan Marais guilty of the 1987 murder of Caiphus Nyoka, a prominent anti-apartheid youth activist.
Marais, 65, had previously confessed to the killing after awakening from a coma five years ago. The assassination of Nyoka, who was an organiser for the South African Youth Congress and a student leader, was part of a coordinated plan by apartheid security forces.
Marais and other officers, allegedly led by commanding officer Major Leon Louis van den Berg, had raided the home of Caiphus Nyoka and shot him multiple times. Van den Berg and additional officers face related charges, with their trial set to begin next week.
The prosecutor’s office emphasized the ruling’s significance in providing long-awaited justice for Nyoka’s family and acknowledged the challenges in prosecuting such decades-old cases.
