Killer of anti-apartheid icon released on parole in South Africa
- Janusz Walus killed the Communist Party’s Chris Hani in 1993 during a volatile period ahead of South Africa’s transition from white minority rule to democracy
- Demonstrators called for the 69-year-old’s parole to be reviewed, accusing him of showing no remorse and failing to disclose the full details of Hani’s murder
The convicted killer of South African anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani has been released from prison in the capital Pretoria after serving more than 28 years for the 1993 murder.
Janusz Walus, 69, has been placed on parole effective from Wednesday after he was discharged from the prison’s hospital wing, according to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola.
He was to be released last week but he was stabbed by a fellow inmate two days before he was to be freed.
His release on parole follows a Constitutional Court judgement that said the minister’s decision to reject his parole was irrational.
“Offender Walus was only discharged from hospital today as he had been receiving treatment after he was involved in a stabbing incident. He will serve two years under community corrections in line with the parole regime upon which he is released,” Lamola said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In previously denying him parole, the decision was not in the spirit of avenging a stalwart of our liberation struggle, but it has always been within the context of giving effect to the interests of justice, from the perspective of what the sentencing court sought to achieve,” he said.