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The sentencing of two former apartheid police officers convicted of the 1987 murder of student activist Caiphus Nyoka has been postponed after one of the men told the court he was in poor health.
Former police sergeants Abraham Hercules Engelbrecht, 61, and Pieter Stander, 60, appeared before the Pretoria high court sitting in Benoni on Tuesday for sentencing after they were found guilty in December 2025 of the premeditated murder of Nyoka, a member of the Congress of SA Students.
Engelbrecht’s legal representative applied for a postponement, telling the court his client required specialist medical consultations before sentencing could proceed. The defence also requested time to obtain a pre-sentence report from Correctional Services.
The court granted the application and postponed sentencing to November 9 to 13.
The National Prosecuting Authority also asked the court for leave to appeal the acquittal of former commanding officer Maj Leon Louis van den Berg, 75, who was found not guilty in the case.
The presiding judge reserved judgment on the state’s application, saying the ruling would be communicated to prosecutors and the legal representatives of the accused at a later stage.
Nyoka, a student activist, was killed during the apartheid era. His case is among several historical political killings that have been reopened as authorities pursue accountability for crimes committed under apartheid.
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