a high court in the country on Thursday sentenced former police officer Johan Marais to 15 years in prison for the 1987 murder of anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka.
The judgment, delivered by High Court Judge Papi Mosopa, marks a rare conviction for crimes committed during the apartheid era. Marais, now 66, admitted in 2019 to killing Nyoka, who was a member of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), during a violent police raid in a township east of Johannesburg. Despite his admission, the court found that Marais showed little genuine remorse and sentenced him to 15 years as a form of “retribution.”
In a powerful moment after the sentencing, over a dozen supporters, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with Nyoka’s image, broke into anti-apartheid struggle songs, a stark reminder of the decades-long fight for justice in the country.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentence, calling it a significant step in addressing the legacy of impunity left by the apartheid regime. “This sentence is therefore significant and impactful, not only for the state and society, but most importantly for the victims’ families to finally find closure,” the NPA said in a statement.
The case was one of several referred to the NPA by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which was established in 1996 to investigate and process human rights abuses committed under apartheid. Of the roughly 7,000 applications for amnesty made to the TRC between 1960 and 1994, very few resulted in prosecutions.
Nyoka was 19 years old when he was gunned down while sleeping with friends. According to case records, police shot him nine times in a targeted raid.
Though justice was long delayed, the conviction represents a beacon of hope for families still awaiting accountability for similar atrocities. It underscores South Africa’s ongoing struggle to reconcile with its past and deliver long-overdue justice to victims of apartheid-era crimes.
