Three former police officers under the apartheid regime will appear on trial from this Friday, November 18, for a crime committed 27 years ago. They are accused of killing a black union leader, known for his criticism of the segregation regime in place until 1994. They appear before a court in Benoni, east of Johannesburg. This trial is one of the rare cases reopened by the South African justice system several decades after the events.
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The three former police officers briefly appeared Monday, November 18 in the morning at the Benoni court, east of Johannesburg. The hearing will resume this Tuesday.
The case dates back to August 23, 1987. Three former South African police officers are accused of having burst into the home of a young trade unionist, Caiphus Nyoka, in the middle of the night and shooting him dead. Then aged 23, he was known in the eastern metropolitan area of Johannesburg for his public criticism of apartheid.
Tried for the murder of Caiphus Nyoka
The head of this anti-terrorist unit, Johan Marais, has already been tried and found guilty on November 12. “ Johan Marais and several members » of the security police « met to discuss a plan to kill Nyoka », recalls the prosecution. They decided to organize a raid on his home “. Around 2:30 a.m., these men broke into his home, heading towards the room he shared with three comrades. “ After identifying him, they took his friends out of the room and shot him nine times », killing him instantly.
After pleading guilty, he was released on bail and ordered not to communicate with the three other accused. His sentence will be pronounced at a later date.
These trials are part of rare apartheid files which were reopened by the South African courts. After apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up to try to obtain confessions from perpetrators in exchange for amnesty. This commission had transmitted more than 300 cases, the most serious, to the public prosecutor who was to open investigations and prosecute those responsible. There were almost none.
25 years later, at the instigation of the victims’ families, we are witnessing a reopening of these cases. Sometimes, families pay for a private investigation themselves and then file the case with the courts. The best known is that of anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol. His trial was unsuccessful following the death of the last suspect, João Rodrigues, in September 2021.
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