Chris Hani’s Polish killer, Janusz Walus, will be spending his 70th birthday outside the walls of Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre after the Constitutional Court, yesterday, ordered that he be released on parole.
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He has been in police custody for nearly three decades following his arrest within hours of the 1993 assassination of SACP leader Hani outside his Boksburg home.
Yesterday, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo ordered Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola to take all the necessary steps to place Walus on parole within ten days.
In his judgement, Zondo said that the minister’s decision to refuse parole to Walus was irrational and should be set aside.
Waluz was initially sentenced to death, with the judge at the time saying that the cold-blooded murder of a prominent person had the potential to have far-reaching consequences for the country and could have plunged it into civil war. Zondo added that the murder had been well planned over a period of weeks.
However, Justice Zondo questioned how these factors, which were now beyond Walus’ control, should prevent him from being released on parole.
“He may serve 30 or 40 years in jail, simply because of these factors that he cannot change. The minister’s decision is thus not rational,” said the judge.
“More than 15 years have lapsed since he was eligible to be considered for parole – in our view it is just and equitable that this court orders the minister to place him on parole.”
“I am mindful that in assassinating Hani, he nearly plunged this country into civil war.”
“But the fathers and mothers of this country endorsed our Bill of Rights, which is there for all, even those who fought democracy and those who supported apartheid with all their hearts.”
Meanwhile, Hani’s widow, Limpo Hani, and SACP members have always opposed parole, arguing that Walus had not shown true remorse or told the truth about who was actually behind the killing.
The clearly angry widow stormed out of court following the judgement, telling the media that Zondo had totally disregarded her family and the SACP in his judgement, never referring to them and instead focusing on Walus. The widow added that Zondo had “failed this country.”
“I have never seen anything like this,” she said, while SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila labelled the judgement “sickeningly disappointing.”
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