Former apartheid officer expresses deep remorse for activist Caiphus Nyoka's murder

FORMER apartheid police officer Johan Marais, who was earlier found guilty of the 1987 murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka, has severe remorse for what he had done 38 years ago, and he wishes that he could undo what had happened.

- ZELDA VENTER

This is according to a psychologist, Kirsten Clark, who gave evidence on Thursday in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.

Clark was called by the defence to testify in Marais’ sentencing proceedings. She consulted with him and compiled a report, which was handed to the court. In November last year, Marais pleaded guilty to the murder. These sentencing proceedings mark a pivotal moment in the decades-long struggle for justice by the Nyoka family.

Nyoka was a prominent student leader in the East Rand and the then-Transvaal Province. In August 1987, Nyoka was fatally shot at his family home in Daveyton by a police unit established to deal with terrorism. In 1988 and 1989, an inquest held before the Benoni Magistrate's Court resulted in a ruling that the police had acted in self-defence, despite evidence presented by the family suggesting otherwise.