Janusz Walus, the gunman who killed SA Communist Party leader Chris Hani in 1993, is again attempting to secure parole, this time through the Constitutional Court.
Previous attempts at parole (and an amnesty bid at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission) have failed. In March 2020, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola declined his parole application.
Walus is seeking to have this decision overturned.
Central to his case is that keeping him in prison is fundamentally a political decision, and so the Minister would never grant him parole.
In his head of argument, the assertion is made that ‘the minister has been deployed by the ANC, which is a partner in the tripartite alliance, to which the SACP belong, which is the second respondent in this application, and which is a party that is directly opposed to the applicant’s application.’
His legal representative, Roelof Du Plessis, said that the ‘political fallout’ that would ensue would be too great for the minister to risk, and only the Constitutional Court could move the issue forward.
‘He is never going to make a decision to put the applicant on parole, and therefore, the only party or entity that is going to come and will come to the assistance of the applicant in this matter will be this court,’ said Du Plessis.
Du Plessis added that Walus had apologised to Mr Hani’s wife and to the SACP, although Ms Hani had refused to speak to him any further.