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RSA top court rules parole for Polish terrorist Janusz Waluś

The Republic of South Africa Constitutional Court ruled that the killer of Chris Hani (head of the Communist Party of South Africa) Janusz Waluś shall be granted parole as early as 15 years ago. Janusz Waluś has already spent 28 years behind bars after shooting Hani in 1993.

Janusz Waluś, born in Zakopane, Poland then emigrated to South Africa in 1981, the same year Poland faced the martial law introduced by the communist regime of General Wojciech Jaruzelski. Together with his family, he ran a glassworks. Later he also worked as a truck driver. After he took South African citizenship in 1986 he became involved in the activities of far-right and pro-apartheid organisations, probably because of his strong anti-communist beliefs.

JUST IN: @ConCourtSA rules Chris Hand's killer Janusz Walus should be released on parole. He has been behind bars for 28 years and became eligible for parole 15 years ago.
Walus must be placed on parole within ten days of this ruling.

— Karyn Maughan (@karynmaughan) November 21, 2022

He shot Chris Hani on April 10, 1993, which almost led to a civil war because the attack occurred during fragile negotiations between the government and the anti-apartheid majority. It was established that he was convinced to commit murder by the head of the Conservative Party Mr Clive Derby-Lewis, who also faced imprisonment for the attack. Nelson Mandela helped to calm down the emotions caused by the attack in a TV statement in which he said that despite the killer being white, he was later found with the help of a white woman who decided to share her testimony with the police.

He was later sentenced to the death penalty, but the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment as RSA withdrew from such punishment. In 2017, he renounced his South African citizenship. He also appealed to the Polish Ministry of Justice to help him spend the rest of his punishment in a Polish prison.

On Monday, the South African Supreme Court ruled that Waluś must be released on parole within 10 days. He served nearly 30 years, exercised his right to parole, and the court granted his request.

As it was later established Mr Waluś might be manipulated for such dramatic steps by the South African special forces supporting the apartheid and wishing to break the negotiations between the parties. They were able to manipulate an emigrant from Poland using his hate for the communist dictatorship.

Janusz Waluś remains a controversial figure both in Poland and South Africa. Some blame his actions for almost causing a civil war in the country. The mostly-white Africaner communities praised his actions as helping to stop the expansion of communism in South Africa. He is also viewed positively by anti-communist circles worldwide that raise Chris Hani was also brutal in his methods of fighting political opponents, which included bomb attacks or murders perpetrated by the Communist Party.

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