Pretoria - Janusz Walus, the man who assassinated South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani in 1993, must serve his life sentence in prison until he sheds more light around the “heinous act”, protesters from the country's ruling party and its alliance partners demanded on Friday.
“We call on this correctional services centre and the department (of justice) to continue to keep Janusz Walus in detention, not to release him until he has served his full sentence and the he must disclose the truth about the circumstances pertaining to the murder of comrade Chris Hani - before any parole can be considered,” Gauteng SACP provincial secretary Jacob Mamabolo said while reading a memorandum outside the prison.
“We strongly condemn the highly insensitive, uncalled for and unnecessary subjective remarks made by the judge, calling on the Hani family and South Africans to simply move on, disregarding the need for full disclosure and the truth about the circumstances of the murder.”
Several public order policing members, with shields, sealed off the entrance to the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Services Centre in Pretoria on Friday as hundreds of protesters arrived at the prison, demanding that the High Court in Pretoria's decision granting parole to Walus be reviewed.
Numerous busy roads in Pretoria central were blocked by police as members of African National Congress-aligned organisations, including the SA Communist Party, Young Communist League and the SA Congress of Trade Unions marched from the city centre to the prison.
Two police Nyalas were parked at the main entrance to the huge correctional facility. Reading out the protesters' memorandum to Correctional Services National Commissioner, Zach Modise, Mamabolo said the judge was biased.
“What the judge said clearly demonstrates that it is possible to elevate the interests of the parole applicant or the criminal at the expense of the interests of the family. The fact that the judge could say 'let the Chris Hani family move on' without first saying 'Janusz Walus must tell the truth' - that shows the judge is biased in favour of the interests of Janusz Walus,” said Mamabolo.
“The law is very weak on that issue. They must strengthen the law so that the interest of families are more stronger than the interests of those applying for parole. That is the point, comrades.”
“He said the crowd of protesters fully supported Justice Minister Michael Masutha's decision to appeal the High Court order granting Walus freedom. This week, the ministry of justice said it had filed an appeal against the decision to grant Walus parole.
“The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Adv Michael Masutha, has decided to appeal against the judgment delivered by the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria on 10 March 2016,” it said.
The court had set aside the minister's refusal to grant parole to the Polish immigrant, who 23 years ago shot dead Hani, the charismatic leader of the SACP. The court ordered Masutha to set parole conditions within 14 days of the judgment.
“The legal representatives of the minister have today filed and served a notice of application for leave to appeal against the judgment with the registrar of the high court,” Masutha's spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said.
“The minister believes that the honourable court erred in its judgment and is of the view that there are prospects of success on appeal and that the Appeal Court will arrive at a different conclusion.”
Walus, 63, who left then communist Poland in 1981 to join his father and brother in South Africa, shot and killed Hani on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1993 - a year before the country's first democratic elections brought Nelson Mandela and the ANC to power. Walus was initially sentenced to death, but this was commuted to life in prison after the abolition of capital punishment.
The court order has caused outrage and even sparked calls for Walus to be immediately deported to Poland.
The ruling ANC termed the court's decision “extremely insensitive” and said it ignored the fact that Hani's murder had brought South Africa to the brink of civil war as the country was emerging from apartheid rule.
Accepting the protesters’ memorandum at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison, Modise said Walus was still inside the correctional facility.
After handing Modise the memorandum, the protesters marched back to Pretoria central, creating another traffic jam.
African News Agency
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