Pretoria - SACP leader Chris Hani’s killer Janusz Walus, 63, will remain in prison for now, but Justice Minister Michael Masutha must within 120 days reconsider his refusal to grant him parole. In doing so, the minister must take into account all the relevant information placed before him.
Gauteng High Court Judge Selby Baqwa on Thursday morning set aside the minister's refusal to grant Walus parole and said he must reconsider the matter. Walus is allowed to give his input regarding his parole application and the SACP and Limpo Hani will be able to answer to his submissions.
Walus asked the court to place him on parole following the refusal by Justice Minister Michael Masutha give the green light for his release.
Walus, who has spent 25 years of his life sentence for the April 1993 killing in the Kgosi Mampuru Prison, asked the court to review and set aside Masutha’s refusal to place him on parole.
Walus said if he is released, he wanted to go back to Poland to be reunited with his family. Judge Baqwa, however, said the decision taken to deport him if he is released, is invalid for want of legality
Judge Baqwa was the same judge who in 2015 granted medical parole to Clive Derby-Lewis, who executed the murder of Hani together with Walus.
The judge at the time said he believed the 79-year-old Derby-Lewis had shown remorse for the murder.
Slain SACP leader Chris Hani. File photo: INLSA
This is Walus’ third attempt to be placed on parole. He received a positive recommendation from the Parole Board seven years ago, but his parole was turned down by the minister in 2013.
In 2015 the minister reviewed another application for parole but he ruled that the placement was not recommended at that stage. He at that stage said Walus had to meanwhile personally apologize to the Hani family and that a security assessment had to be done on him to establish whether he still posed a security threat to the country.
In 2016 Minister Masutha once again turned down his parole application. The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein subsequently ruled that the minister had to reconsider his refusal. Masutha yet again ruled against Walus on the grounds that he had not shown sufficient remorse.
He based this decision on a report from a psychologist, who remarked that in his view Walus had expressed his remorse for the loss of the Hani family, but he did not show any remorse for killing “Chris Hani the communist”.
Du Plessis said this was bitterly unfair and not correct, as Walus had over and overexpressed his remorse for what he had done.
Du Plessis said Masutha and his department tried to find new reasons every time not to grant him parole.