Janusz Wals, extremist who murdered South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani in 1993
Interior Minister Leon Schreiber announced that Janusz Walz, the extremist who murdered South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani in 1993, will be deported to Poland on Friday.
The move coincides with the end of Wals' parole period after he was released from prison two years ago.
“Deportations will still take place today,” Schreiber said, adding that the costs of deportations would be borne by Poland.
The decision to deport Wals was made by the justice group's ministers and approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, but was intentionally not made public until the deportation was imminent, Shriver added.
Walus was considered a safety risk while on parole.
Presidential Minister Khumbutso Nshabheni said the decision to return Mr Walus to his native Poland was based on the fact that he “no longer possesses valid South African documents”.
He lost his South African citizenship in 2017 and was granted residency in the form of an exemption under immigration law to allow him to serve his parole period in the country after his release from prison.
Nshabeni added that the decision to deport was communicated to the Hani family by Vice President Paul Mashatil.
His family, as well as the SACP, vehemently opposed Wals' parole.
Wals was initially sentenced to death for Hani's murder, which brought South Africa to the brink of civil war during the dying days of apartheid.
After the death penalty was declared unconstitutional, the sentence was changed to life imprisonment. He fought for parole for four years and was finally released after 28 years in prison.
Former Justice Minister Ronald Lamola's final parole application was rejected in 2020, citing the harshness of the sanctions imposed by the trial court in connection with the cold-blooded murder case. The intention was to stabilize the country. Democracy.
“The record before me clearly shows that the court took this fact into account when sentencing Walus to death. , there was a possibility.”
This decision was rejected as unreasonable by the Constitutional Court in November 2022.
In a unanimous judgment handed down by former Supreme Court Justice Raymond Zondo, the court considered not only the seriousness of the crime and the disaster it nearly caused, but also the intent of those who drafted the Constitution, which was adopted years later. We also took note of the facts. To ensure that fundamental rights are enjoyed by everyone, not just those who supported the transition to democracy.
“Also, when the fathers and mothers of our constitutional democracy drafted our Constitution and included a Bill of Rights within it, they gave fundamental rights only to those who fought for democracy. We are also mindful that we did not draft the Bill of Rights. It did not apply to those who supported apartheid or opposed the introduction of democracy in this country,” Zondo said.
The Supreme Court ordered Walus to be released within 10 days.
He was stabbed by a fellow inmate at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Center in Tshwane three days before his term expired, but suffered no serious injuries.
At the time of his release, Poland's right-wing Law and Justice party was in power, and there was resistance to his eventual deportation. The party lost its parliamentary majority last year.
