Statement on the Parole and Release of Janusz Walus

Friday, 6 December 2024

The Constitutional Court’s order on 21 November 2022, under the leadership of Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, granting Janusz Waluś parole within ten days, remains a source of profound anger and disappointment. This is true not only for the Hani family and the South African Communist Party (SACP) but also for millions of South Africans, of whom the majority is the working class.

Waluś, a Polish immigrant who cold-bloodedly assassinated our beloved General Secretary, Comrade Chris Hani, on 10 April 1993, has now concluded that parole. The SACP will dedicate a session at its Fifth Special National Congress scheduled for 11 to 14 December 2024 on this matter. 

Through the past 31 years since the sentencing of Waluś and his co-conspirator, one Clive Derby-Lewis who has since died while on medical parole, our stance remained resolute: both the convicted assassins should have rotted in jail. We demanded full disclosure of the truth about Hani’s assassination. To achieve this, we opposed both amnesty and parole for the convicted assassins and called for an inquest into Hani’s assassination towards closure for the family.

This week, the government reached out to Comrade Limpho Hani, Chris Hani’s widow, to arrange a meeting regarding Waluś’ release. Comrade Limpho, as a matter of principle, ensured the SACP’s presence at the meeting held on the evening of Thursday, 6 December 2024. SACP General Secretary Comrade Solly Mapaila led the Party’s delegation, which included the legal representative of the Hani family and the SACP. The government delegation was headed by Deputy President Paul Mashatile and included three ministers.

While the Hani family and the SACP acknowledged the government’s effort to reach out to the family and the Party, this was on the eve of the end of the assassin’s parole. The meeting occurred at 8 PM, a few hours before the assassin’s parole ended at midnight. A deportation plan for Waluś, who is neither a South African citizen nor a permanent resident, was already finalised and set to commence the next morning, 6 December 2024.

The eleventh-hour notification clearly appeared to be the result of how the Department of Correctional Services, under Minister Dr Pieter Groenewald – leader of the Freedom Front Plus – handled the matter. The Hani family and the SACP voiced deep concerns over this disregard and urged the Deputy President to provide Cabinet feedback. We made it clear: no family of apartheid-era or other victims should ever be treated in this manner. This was a joint appeal grounded in justice and humanity.

Additionally, Comrade Limpho Hani and Comrade Mapaila presented the joint call by the Hani family and the SACP for an inquest into Chris Hani’s assassination. The parole granted to Waluś disregarded the fact that neither he nor his co-conspirators have fully disclosed the truth surrounding the assassination. Justice remains incomplete, and the Hani family, the SACP, and the working class continue to suffer the painful absence of closure.

While unrepentant racists and right-wingers in South Africa and Poland may view Waluś as their hero, he is a convicted assassin who sought to defend the perpetuation of the racist regime of apartheid and its social relations. This must be considered a warning. Chris Hani will live forever in our hearts and in the programme of the SACP and the working class.

We will not rest until the full truth is uncovered, justice is served and the revolutionary values Hani stood for are fully realised.

Issued by the South African Communist Party,

Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa.

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