In 2020, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola rejected his parole application.
FILE: Janusz Walus at a hearing at Pretoria City Hall on August 11, 1997. Photo: AFP
JOHANNESBURG – The killer of Communist Party of the South leader Chris Hani, Janusz Walus, is to be released on parole.
In 2020, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola rejected his parole application.
He subsequently appealed Lamola’s decision, but was unsuccessful in either the Pretoria High Court or on appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).
Walus then appealed to the high court, which ruled in favor of Walus on Monday.
The minister ordered his parole.
In denying Walus parole in 2020, Lamola cited observations by the trial court that convicted and sentenced him and the Supreme Court of Appeal, which heard his appeal against his conviction and sentence.
Those remarks focused on the gravity of his crime.
He also referred to the nature and seriousness of his crime.
Challenging Lamola’s decision, however, Walus argued that there was nothing he could do about any of these factors.
And in a unanimous decision by the Constitutional Court, written by Chief Justice Raymond Zonda, he agreed, finding that the minister’s decision was irrational and ordered the minister to place Walus on parole.
