Chris Hani's widow lashes at Zondo for Waluś ruling

As Limpho Hani, the widow of Chris Hani, lashed out at the apex court yesterday for ordering the release of her husband's killer on parole, legal experts and constitutional activists said the ruling affirmed the rule of law.

Yesterday, the Constitutional Court set aside the decision of justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola to refuse parole to Hani’s killer, Janusz Waluś.

The judgment was met with widespread emotional and political backlash with Limpho labelling it “diabolical”.

“Indirectly, [chief justice Raymond] Zondo says Waluś did well to kill my husband. If my husband was not killed, we’d never have had elections. [Former president Nelson] Mandela after my husband was killed said to [former president FW] De Klerk in order to stop this (civil unrest) give us [an] election date and that’s how Zondo and his friends today are sitting in this court,” Limpho said.

Limpho criticised Zondo for failing to address the Hani's family pain following Hani's murder. She said Zondo had “failed the country completely”.

“In this country, a foreign white can come into this country, kill my husband... I don’t know if you heard, Zondo never referred to me, to my family, to myself to my suffering, he couldn’t give a s**t, he couldn’t be bothered.”

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation's executive director Nishan Bolton said despite the constitutional court's decision being painful, it should be accepted.

“If Janusz were not to be paroled and he'd served his sentence until he dies (in prison), that would essentially mean it is a death sentence by long-term imprisonment, and our country doesn't have that legislation. I think the constitutional court would've been guided by that kind of thinking and therefore, as difficult as it is, I think we need to accept the ruling of the constitutional court. That doesn't mean we accept that the killing of Hani was justified. If we want a constitutional democracy, we must accept the outcomes of legal processes even if we don't like it,” said Bolton. 

The South African Communist Party also hit out at the judgment saying it had far-reaching implications for the party.

“The reality we now face is that the court failed to protect our right to exist as communists. We will have to protect this right ourselves,” said general-secretary Solly Mapaila.

Delivering the unanimous judgment, chief justice Raymond Zondo ordered Lamola to place Waluś on parole within 10 calendar days from the date of the order.

“The minister of justice and correctional services is ordered to pay the applicant’s costs including the costs of two counsels,” Zondo said.

While reading out the order, Zondo said Waluś' history showed that his previous attempts at getting out on parole dated as far back as 2011 with the parole board having previously recommended, he be released but the then minister responsible for correctional services rejected the recommendation.

Zondo added that Walus became eligible for parole in 2005.

Waluś, a Polish immigrant who killed the SACP leader and anti-apartheid activist in April 1993, has been serving a life sentence at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Facility, formerly Pretoria Prison.

He and Derby-Lewis were sentenced to death, but their sentences were later commuted to life imprisonment when SA abolished the death penalty.

Derby-Lewis, who had allegedly ordered the hit carried out by Waluś, was granted medical parole in 2015 and died the following year of cancer.

Zondo added that the two men's conduct had almost plunged South Africa into civil unrest, and it had seemed like they had intentionally tried to stop the advent of democracy.

National director for Lawyers for Human Rights Wayne Ncube said the ConCourt judgment affirmed the justice system despite not everyone being pleased with the outcome.

“I don’t want to be too critical of the court. I don’t think they did a proper service in considering the nature, severity of crime and impact of his release. They barely offered any paragraph on why he should be paroled. Those factors are not balanced, and I think there might be a factor where it needs to be balanced. It'll be difficult for South Africans and the family to consider the decision,” Ncube said.

Reacting to the news, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele, who was meant to have met Hani on the day he was killed said he respected the decision of the court. 

“We always said Waluś and his cohorts misunderstood Chris Hani for danger or risk. They killed a peace champion. Chris all his life wanted human harmony among all ethnic groups.

“The Constitution now that’s been used to decide his parole is an expression of what Chris stood for. Chris stood for a constitution that was racially and ethnically inclusive. He died for that constitution which made it possible for Waluś to get parole,” he said.

Hani’s comrade Tokyo Sexwale who was one of the first people at the scene of his murder in 1993 told Sowetan yesterday that it is not his place to reflect on the decision of courts.

He said it is inescapable that story of Chris Hani is one filled with heavy emotions, both for his family, particularly his wife and children, as well many people who loved him within the ANC.

‘’My concern is that this man [Waluś] had not, together with his cohorts, gone out to tell the full truth in public...He goes away with information outside of the prison which has not been declared. One of the things which was a tell-tale was that the weapons that he used was illegally acquired through the South African army. We don’t know who gave these people that weapon. There are a lot of unknowns, but the courts have taken their own decision. And it is not for me to comment on that. My comment is on the political, emotive, morality of issues and about the pain we went through and the family. It is a knife between the shoulder blades of his wife,” he said.

Sexwale described Waluś as a cold-blooded right winger murderer.

Nelson Mandela Foundation chief executive Sello Hatang said the foundation acknowledges the pain that the family and friends of Chris Hani are experiencing at the release on parole of Janusz Waluś.

“This is a hard moment. Beyond our own subjective feelings in relation to the matter, we believe that due process in terms of South African law has been followed. The rule of law and the principle that everyone is equal before the law are two of the cornerstones of our democracy,” said Hatang.