Two days before the deadline for his contentious parole release, the assassin of anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani was fatally stabbed in a South African prison, according to the prison service on Tuesday (November 29).
“The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) confirms the unfortunate incident in which inmate Janusz Walus was stabbed,” the prison administration said in a statement.
“The inmate is (in a) stable condition,” it said, adding that the injured man is currently receiving “necessary care.”
Initial investigations indicate that Walus, 69, was stabbed by another prisoner, according to corrections, which opened an enquiry.
The Polish immigrant connected to the extreme right of the white Afrikaner people who murdered Chris Hani in 1993 was granted early parole by the courts last week. The country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, decided that he had to be released no later than December 1.
The widow of Chris Hani criticized the “diabolical decision.” And on Saturday, the illustrious ruling ANC organized a demonstration against his release that drew in a sizable crowd.
In the eastern suburb of Johannesburg, in the municipality of Ekurhuleni, Chris Hani’s tomb was destroyed on Saturday night.
Chris Hani, a 50-year-old communist commander and top representative of the liberation party’s armed wing, was fatally shot by Janusz Walus on April 10, 1993, in front of his garage.
The first democratic elections in the nation were being discussed delicately with the white authorities at the time.
The murder heightened racial tensions and sparked violent rioting in South Africa’s townships, which had already been rocked by the racist regime’s final tremors. Nelson Mandela urged calm in an animated speech that was broadcast on television.
Janusz Walus had been given a death sentence, but in 1994, the new government abolished the death penalty, and his sentence was changed to life in prison.
For around 20 years, he had been eligible for parole. All of his prior applications had been turned down.
As one of the anti-apartheid movement’s heroes, Chris Hani is remembered each year in South Africa.
