SACP STATEMENT ON THE DECISION OF THE NORTH GAUTENG COURT ON MAY 29, 2015

29 May 2015

The SACP has taken note of the North Gauteng High Court decision to provide Clive Derby-Lewis medical parole under conditions to be determined by the Minister of Justice. The SACP is disappointed by this decision and we urge the Minister to appeal the decision.

However, the SACP wishes to place on record that we have never opposed parole for the two convicted murderers of our former general secretary, cde Chris Hani. However, we have always argued that a full disclosure should be the unconditional requirement. Both in the course of the TRC amnesty hearings in the 1990s, and in subsequent parole applications, this has been the SACP’s consistent position.

It is also important to remember that it was the TRC that refused amnesty to Derby-Lewis and Walus precisely on the grounds that they had manifestly failed to make a full disclosure on the conspiracy behind the assassination of cde Chris Hani. It is not the SACP that made this determination.

A medical parole guided by the laws of our country for an ageing and dying prison inmate is, of course, a different matter from a normal parole. The SACP believes that a spirit of compassion is fundamental to our socialist values and, indeed, it was absolutely central to the values that inspired Chris Hani. Justice under the law must accordingly be done in this regard in this case. The right to life is a cornerstone of our democratic constitution. It was this constitutional principle that rescued Derby-Lewis from the gallows. Let us never forget that Chris Hani also had a right to life.

We continue to say that it is still not too late for these convicted criminals to make a full disclosure. The SACP will continue unsparingly to struggle for the truth to come to light.

Let all South Africans never forget that Derby-Lewis was involved in an active conspiracy that was not simply directed against the SACP. On the hit list found on Walus were other names and residential details, including those for Nelson Mandela. The intention of the conspiracy, on the admission of the culprits themselves, was to ship-wreck the negotiated transition to democracy, and plunge South Africa into a racial civil war. 

Statement issued by the SACP, May 29 2015