Johan Marais sentenced to 15 years behind bars for murder of Caiphus Nyoka

Thabiso Goba

Thabiso Goba

10 July 2025 | 10:05

On 24 August 1987, Marais and his police colleague broke into the Daveyton home of Nyoka and shot him multiple times.

Johan Marais sentenced to 15 years behind bars for murder of Caiphus Nyoka

FILE: Johan Marais, a former apartheid police officer who pleaded guilty to the 1987 murder of COSAS member, Caiphus Nyoka. Marais is being sentenced on 10 July 2025 at the Pretoria High Court. Picture: Thabiso Goba/EWN

JOHANNESBURG - Former apartheid era police officer Johan Marais has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars for the murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka.

On 24 August 1987, Marais and his police colleague broke into the Daveyton home of Nyoka and shot him multiple times.

Nyoka was a 23-year-old activist at the time with the African National Congress (ANC)-aligned Congress of South African Students.

Marais entered a guilty plea in 2024, saying the incident had caused him severe emotional trauma.

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