Pretoria - Janusz Walus, the man who murdered SA Communist Party leader Chris Hani, will soon know whether his application to be released on parole was successful, the High Court in Pretoria said on Wednesday.
“I was of the view that I would be able to give judgment today, (but) this is a new section. In view of all the arguments, I would like to apply my mind properly,” said Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen.
“My position is that I’m currently sitting in the Palm Ridge criminal court. I will write a judgment that will then be handed down by one of my brothers or sisters (fellow judges) in Pretoria.”
Before adjourning the court, Janse van Nieuwenhuizen told advocate Gcina Malindi to caution his client, the South African Communist Party (SACP).
“You, as an officer of this court no doubt appreciate the importance of respect for the rule of law as a cornerstone in any civil society and in a democratic society. Would you kindly relate or advise your clients on that principle?” said the judge before walking out of the packed courtroom.
The SACP and Hani’s widow Limpho have been critical of how Janse van Nieuwenhuizen has been handling Walus’s bid for freedom.
Walus wants to be released immediately on parole, pending the outcome of a petition lodged by Justice Minister Michael Masutha to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Advocate Roelof du Plessis, for Walus, said his client was suffering “irreparable harm” through his continued incarceration.
“If it eventually turns out a year later that you were right and that the applicant (Walus) was supposed to be released on parole, are they going to give him back a year of his life? How are they going to add a year to his life?” asked Du Plessis while addressing Janse van Nieuwenhuizen.
He said no amount of money can compensate for that “irreparable harm”.
“The only reason why the Minister (Michael Masutha) is bringing this application is because of bias and political pressure. It is our submission that political pressure has made him to oppose everything in this case,” said Du Plessis.
“That should not infringe the rights of the applicant. They are taking away his right to serve his sentence on parole. That’s the gist of this case. Parole is a continuation of sentence therefore no prejudice will follow should the applicant continue with his sentence on parole.”
The appeal was launched after Janse van Nieuwenhuizen last week dismissed Masutha’s application for leave to appeal her earlier judgment, which ordered the release of Walus with 14 days.
Since there is a petition to a higher court, Walus remains in jail.
Roelof argued on Wednesday that the appeal process could take a year of Walus’s life.
“He has been incarcerated for 23 years already as opposed to others (criminals),” said Roelof.
Countering Roelof’s assertions, Malindi said it would be inappropriate to view Walus as any ordinary criminal.
“The murder … was an assassination of a prominent leader of the SACP and the African National Congress. It was a murder committed on the eve of our democratic dispensation,” said Malindi.
Janse van Nieuwenhuizen concurred: “It could have caused our country to face a civil war”.
Malindi said the court must not release Walus pending the conclusion of the Supreme Court appeal which is already in motion.
Hani was shot and killed by Walus on Easter Sunday, 10 April, 1993.
Walus was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in October 1993, but this was later commuted to life imprisonment.
Walus’s application to be released on parole was initially turned down by Masutha, after which the convicted murderer sought the intervention of the high court to make a ruling for him to be released on parole.
His erstwhile co-accused Clive Derby-Lewis, who was also given a life sentence, was released on medical parole last year.
On 10 March, the high court ordered that Walus be released on parole within a fortnight, prompting Masutha to apply for leave to appeal. That appeal was dismissed by Janse van Nieuwenhuizen last week.
African News Agency