Janusz Walus has been officially placed on parole from Wednesday 07 December 2022. He was arrested for the murder of the South African Communist Party secretary general, Chris Hani. His parole comes with strict conditions.
Walus was discharged from hospital on Wednesday after receiving treatment from being stabbed by a fellow prisoner a week ago.
Walus release comes after the Constitutional Court ordered the Department of Justice and Correctional Services, to release him out on parole after serving 29 years for the assassination of the former SACP secretary general.
The Department of Justice together with the Correctional Services released a statement saying Walus would serve two years under community corrections in line with parole guidelines.
The statement reads: “There is no question that offender Walus is a polarizing figure in our budding democracy, and that his release understandably re-opened wounds among some in society especially the family of the late struggle icon, Chris Hani.”
The department of justice said, previously denying Walus a parole was all in the interest of justice.
“Previously denying him parole, the decision was not in the spirit of avenging a stalwart of our liberation struggle, but it has always been within the context of giving effect to the interest of justice, from the perspective of what the sentencing sought to achieve.”
The department of justice added, “Offender Walus has been furnished with his parole conditions in terms of the Correctional Services Act. If he violates the conditions, he will be returned to a correctinal center.”
