Trial of alleged killers of student activist Caiphus Nyoka postponed

Advocate Hilton West did not give reasons for withdrawing

The trial of three policemen accused of murdering student activist Caiphus Nyoka in 1987 has been postponed after advocate Hilton West, for accused Pieter Stander, 61, withdrew his legal representation. 

West did not provide reasons.

Stander's instructing attorney, JP Okes, applied for a postponement, saying he needed to prepare for the case. Okes told the court he had other matters to attend to.

Judge Ismail Mahomed said the court would have to be convinced of exceptional circumstances when granting a postponement.

“Those reasons will have to be convincing and not simply because the client is not satisfied with the lawyer,” he said.

Stander, Leon Louis van den Berg, 72, and Abram Engelbrecht, 60, are accused of murdering East Rand student activist Nyoka more than 37 years ago. 

This is one of the cases that was referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

At the time of his murder, Nyoka was a student activist in Daveyton and a member of the Congress of South African Students. He was also the South African Youth Congress organiser of the Transvaal Student Congress on the East Rand and president of the student representative council at Mabuya Secondary School.

The state's case is that the accused acted in the furtherance of common purpose in the commission of murder. Johan Marais, 65, who was stationed at unit 6 in Dunnottar in Ekurhuleni, pleaded guilty to killing Nyoka.

The Nyoka family's legal representative Jos Venter said he was disappointed by the application for postponement. He said when the trial started the expectation was that it would continue without hindrance. 

“We are disappointed but the judge has made a ruling, which we accept. We welcome the judge's warning on further postponements and delays in the trial,” he said.

The trial was postponed to December 2, when Nyoka's younger sister is expected to continue her testimony. 

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