Red Alert

SACP statement on the Gauteng High Court judgment granting parole the unrepentant murderer Janusz Waluś who killed our former General Secretary Comrade Chris Hani

SACP STATEMENT, 10 MARCH 2015

The South African Communist Party (SACP) is gravely disappointed and appalled at the Gauteng North High Court’s judgement effectively releasing from prison on parole the unrepentant murderer, Janusz Waluś who pulled the trigger killing our former General Secretary Comrade Chris Hani on 10 April 1993.

During the proceedings at the Court on 2 March, Judge Nicoline Janse Van Nieuwenhuizen made biased remarks suggesting that it was time to forget and move on and that the murderer must be treated with compassion, as if his killing of Hani was compassionate.

The SACP and the family of the late Comrade Chris Hani took serious exception of the biased comments which indicated to us that possibly the Judge had predetermined views about the matter in favour of the unrepentant murderer.

It therefore did not come as a complete surprise today when she set aside the decision of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services to decline parole for the unrepentant murderer pending applicable processes. The Judge has ordered that the murderer “be placed on parole within 14 days” and that the Minister must “impose the necessary parole conditions within 14 days” from today respectively.

Whilst we respect the Courts, we wish to reiterate our call that the courts should not blur the lines of the principle of separation of powers and encroach into the executive sphere where by means of their judgements they ultimately replace the democratically elected executive authority by the rule of the Court.

The SACP and the family of the late Comrade Chris Hani are not prepared to leave the matter unchallenged. We are studying the judgments and will decide on the next cause of action. There are many legal difficulties in the judgment and we believe there are good prospects of successfully appealing. We would encourage the Minister to appeal this judgment.

Meanwhile, issues relating to forgiveness have come out. The foundation of forgiveness is truth and the whole truth. Just because Janusz Waluś wrote a letter requesting to meet the family of Comrade Chris Hani to ask for forgiveness does not mean that he has disclosed the entire truth surrounding the murder of Comrade Chris Hani.

Statement issued by the SACP, 10 March 2016