Pretoria - SACP leader Chris Hani’s killer Janusz Walus will soon be up there as one of the longest-serving political prisoners in the country, and it was time he went back to his native Poland.
This is according to his lawyer, Julian Knight, ahead of the hearing of yet another application in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on October 7 by Walus’s legal team for his release on parole.
This will be the third time they are back in court to try to secure the release of the Polish immigrant. It is 26 years since he was arrested, shortly after the April 10, 1993, assassination of Hani. He was, however, only sentenced the following year.
Two previous ministers of justice refused to release him on parole and it is now up to incumbent Ronald Lamola, Knight said.
“We are asking the new minister to make a decision and hopefully he will put the law first. Walus is shortly going to serve as long a sentence as Nelson Mandela did - 27 years.”
Walus is believed to be the longest-serving political prisoner still in jail.
Former minister Michael Masutha in January turned down the parole.
Masutha said there was a possibility Walus could reoffend and that there was doubt over his remorse for the killing.
He said there were conflicting psychological reports between Walus’s psychologist and that of the State on whether the Pole was ready to face the outside world.
Masutha said he had considered the contradictions and it was difficult for him to make a decision on the suitability for placement on parole at this stage.
He said at the time Walus had to undergo further individual psychotherapy to address the challenges he would face in the outside world.
Widow Limpo Hani and the SACP have from the start stood firm on their objection to parole.