'Diabolical, cynical and harmful' — EFF slams Hani killer’s parole release

The EFF has slammed the release of Janusz Waluś as “diabolical, cynical and harmful”. 

On Wednesday, the justice department placed Waluś on parole after he spent 28 years in prison for the assassination of SACP and ANC leader Chris Hani. 

He was discharged from hospital earlier after he was stabbed by a fellow inmate last week and will serve two years under community corrections in line with his parole conditions.

The EFF said Waluś's release should concern the country, saying the Constitutional Court has been making outrageous decisions that favour the embedded interests of whites and “captured token blacks” while condemning the majority to continued malignment and exploitation.

“We condemn this release; it is repugnant and shows that black pain and suffering is of no concern in this country. Whites have centred themselves in almost every key aspect of life post 1994, and our courts continue to affirm whites as the centre of life in this country,” said the party in a statement.

The EFF said Walus’s release showed scant regard for the nature of the crime he had committed.

“Today a murderer, a counter-revolutionary and a man who undermined the socialist progress of South Africa walks the streets. Chris Hani called for the return of the land, free education, free housing, sanitation, and for an economy that will be in the hands of the people. He sacrificed his life in exile, risked the life of his children and his own for our freedom, and today his killer walks among us.”

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said Waluś would meet his fate and should “not think he will enjoy life”.

Speaking to the media, Lesufi said he was disappointed by the ConCourt's decision. 

“It is a sad day. Those who know who Chris Hani was and what his role was in being where we are today will know that that murderer does not deserve to be out of prison. It was a decision taken by the court, we will respect that,” he said. 

“Fate will meet him. He must not think he will enjoy life when he has killed Chris Hani. Wherever he goes, he must know he is a loser. There is nothing heroic about him; he is a coward, actually.

“He can go and rot wherever he is going, and he must know we are very angry. I hope a shadow of protection will always be around him. We are wishing him all the bad luck in the world.”

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