Photo: Nigel Sibanda
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said Janusz Waluś will never be forgiven for the assassination of the South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani.
The murder took place in 1993, outside Hani’s home.
Members from the African National Congress (ANC) and its tripartite alliance partners, the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), gathered at Burgers Park in the Pretoria CBD on Wednesday.
The group have planned a march to the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre where Janusz Waluś has been imprisoned for the past 30 years.
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Lesufi said they want Waluś to know he will not be forgiven for Hani’s murder.
“When Chris Hani was killed, we marched. When Waluś was sent to prison, we marched. So, we are marching now when he’s getting out of prison so when he takes that last walk of shame out of prison, he must still see the name of Chris Hani.
“Twenty-nine years ago, he thought by killing Chris Hani his name will die forever. His name is not dead, we are still flying the name of Chris Hani and we want him to get out of that prison to know that Chris Hani is still alive,” Lesufi told journalists.
While Waluś was expected to be released from prison on Thursday, it’s unclear if he will leave the correctional facility after he was stabbed on Tuesday by a fellow prisoner, who is reported to be a former ANC military veterans member.
Waluś was rushed to the prison’s hospital, with the Department of Correctional Services saying he is in a stable condition and receiving the necessary medical care.
ALSO READ: Janusz Waluś stabbed in prison – Correctional Services confirms
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The Constitutional Court on 21 November, ruled that Waluś be released within 10 days.
It found that the decision by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola not to grant Waluś parole in 2020 was irrational.
The ruling by the apex court granting Waluś parole caused outrage from Hani’s widow Limpho, including members of the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Waluś, a Polish immigrant, was serving a life sentence for killing Hani outside his home in Boksburg on 10 April 1993, with the support of Clive Derby-Lewis.
ALSO READ: ConCourt must ‘take responsibility’ for ‘consequences’ of Janusz Waluś’ release, says EFF