Pretoria - The decision on a medical parole bid by convicted killer Clive Derby-Lewis will be handed down on Friday, the High Court in Pretoria ruled on Tuesday.
Judge Selby Baqwa said he understood that the matter was urgent and was of great significance.
He said he had received lengthy submissions from Justice Minister Michael Masutha and the legal representative for Derby-Lewis, Roelof du Plessis.
Baqwa is set to decide whether to immediately release Derby-Lewis on medical parole, or to refer his plight back to Masutha.
Masutha earlier this year turned down Derby-Lewis’ application to be placed on medical parole and found that he was not terminally ill.
While two doctors were of the opinion that he suffered from stage four lung cancer and gave him six months to live (which lapse in July) a third medical practitioner was of the opinion that he was in stage three cancer and that it was not spreading.
Masutha accepted the opinion that Derby-Lewis suffered from stage 3B cancer and concluded that he thus did not satisfy the criteria for medical parole, as set out in the Correctional Services Act.
Derby-Lewis on Monday turned to the high court in Pretoria to ask for an order reviewing and setting aside the decision of the minister.
“He just wants to die with dignity, at home with his family. It is an issue of humanity. The minister should have shown some compassion,” Du Plessis told the court. He added that it was now up to the court to follow the spirit of Ubuntu.
Derby-Lewis has been in jail for 21 years following his murder conviction after SACP leader Chris Hani was assassinated outside his home in 1993.
ANA and Pretoria News