Johannesburg - The decision to deny Clive Derby-Lewis medical parole was not based on any pressure from the SA Communist Party or its former secretary-general Chris Hani’s family, but was based solely on the law.
This is according to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha, who this week had the unenviable task of having to decide whether to release apartheid-era killers Derby-Lewis, Eugene de Kock and Ferdi Barnard.
Masutha told The Sunday Independent that even though Hani’s family were vehemently opposed to parole for Derby-Lewis, it was not necessary for them to apply any pressure, because the law was clear about the grounds upon which prisoners may be paroled.
“We never received any formal request for engagement from the SACP or from (Chris Hani’s wife). I have to say, though, that their reasons for opposing the release did resonate with ours.
“They were basically similar reasons. But, as I said, the president did advise that in order for me to do my job properly I have to rely on the constitution, which made the task straightforward,” said Masutha.
Masutha announced that Derby-Lewis’ parole application had been turned down as his lung cancer was still at stage 3, and not stage 4, as prescribed by law.
There was therefore no evidence to suggest that he was incapacitated. Furthermore, Masutha raised concerns about the real identity of the person whose medical samples had been used, as Derby-Lewis had used the name of a patient with a similar illness on his pathologist report.
“We were aware of the political and emotional issues at play in this matter, but those did not necessarily play a role, because the law is clear on how to determine whether one should get parole or not.
“There was a lot of political and public interest in the matter, but the decision was based on what the law requires,” said Masutha.
Derby-Lewis’ wife, Gaye, said on Friday that they were taking the matter on an urgent legal review, which might see him challenging the minister’s decision in court.
According to Gaye, Derby-Lewis had used a different name at the insistence of prison officials, for security reasons, after he was stabbed in prison in March last year.
She claimed that senior leaders of the ANC, including former president Nelson Mandela, had made it clear that Derby-Lewis would never be released from prison. The SACP has welcomed Masutha’s decision, saying Derby-Lewis had failed in his media campaign to be released out of jail “through the back door”.
The party has also called for action to be taken against Derby-Lewis for alleged manipulation of medical records, insisting that he should stay in prison, “as he remains a danger to the reconciliation projects that our country so desperately yearns for.
“His release from prison therefore poses a huge potential (to spark) racial violence and hatred among the people of South Africa.
“Once more, true reconciliation and forgiveness depends… on full disclosure of the truth as well as remorse, something which is not accepted by Mr Clive Derby-Lewis and his supporters,” it said.
The Sunday Independent