Just days before the release of assassin Janusz Walus who shot and killed South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani is set to be released on parole, confusion is reigning in the country over where he will serve the remainder of his sentence.
The Polish national’s lawyers are saying he should be deported to his country of birth and serve his sentence there but the Department of Home Affairs believes he should be in South Africa. This comes as his South African citizenship was revoked in 2017.
Attorney Julian Knight has told the media that his client never applied for residency and should be deported.
“The minister doesn’t have the power to grant a special dispensation because no application has been made by the applicant for that status.”
However, the Department of Home Affairs this week said in line with the undertaking made by minister Dr Aeron Motsoaledi and accepted by Walus during the High Court proceedings in November 2020, he was granted an exemption in terms of section 31(2)(b) of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, the rights of permanent residence for the parole period and conditions to be imposed by the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.
“The Minister granted the exemption in order for Mr Walus to serve his parole period in South Africa and the exemption contains a condition that Mr Walus may not use any travel document and/or passport issued by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland.
“The letter addressed to Mr Walus and a certificate of the exemption have been forwarded to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services to be delivered to Mr Walus,” the department said in a statement.
It further stated that the letter set out the exceptional circumstances requiring the granting of the exemption which, inter alia, include the fact that it would be in the interests of justice that Walus serves his sentence to the fullest, including parole in the country.
Walus was thrown a lifeline when Chief Justice Raymond Zondo in the Constitutional Court ruled that he should be released on parole within 10 days of judgment. The 10 days end on Thursday. The ruling angered many South Africans, including the Hani family who have since lambasted Zondo and the country’s justice system.
Among the many bones of contention is Walus’ lack of remorse for what he did. Hani’s irate wife, Limpho Hani lashed out at the judgment and blamed Zondo for the decision to grant Walus parole. She said the move was a miscarriage of justice and went as far as saying the decision gave credence to what Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu wrote in her opinion piece about the justice system being captured.
Despite the background noises regarding Walus flying off to his country of birth where right wing elements are celebrating his freedom, the department said in light of the exemption issued by the minister, “this speculation cannot be correct and the Department of Home Affairs would not be involved in any deportation process of Mr Walus to the Republic of Poland.”
“The DHA’s stance is that Mr Walus must serve his parole period in South Africa as part of his sentence. It is clear from the media reports that the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, believes that if Walus is deported to Poland, he won’t serve any parole in the Republic of Poland because the Constitutional court judgment is not binding on that country.
“The Minister of Home Affairs further believes that the heinous crime committed to the people of South Africa by murdering one of the icons of the liberation struggle makes it obligatory that Mr Walus must serve his parole period as part of his sentence in the Republic of South Africa,” the department said.