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Justice Minister Michael Masutha denied Janusz Walus parole for killing Chris Hani but Walus’ lawyer said they will be challenging this decision.
“We are taking the matter on review, it will be a high court application to ask the court to substitute the minister’s decision,” said litigation attorney Julian Knight.
Knight said they will make the application in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act and will ask for the decision to be set aside because “it is irrational and biased”.
“I am more [than] confident that we will be successful,” Knight said.
Walus is serving a life sentence for the assassination of Hani in 1993.
He applied for parole in 2013 but Masutha turned down application in April 2015. Walus then launched a review application in the North Gauteng High Court, which set aside the minister’s decision and granted him parole.
Masutha then appealed the high court’s order at the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), which gave the minister 90 days to make a decision.
Today the minister announced that he would be denying Walus’ parole application.
“In making my decision, I took into account the SCA judgment in so far as it related to representations made by Mrs Hani, Mr Walus and recommendations made by the parole board,” said Masutha.
The minister also maintains that Walus is neither remorseful nor equipped to be reintegrated to society.
He cited a psychology report which revealed that Walus “expressed remorse for the fact that the victims’ children are fatherless and the wife is a widow, however he showed no remorse for murdering Chris Hani”.
“This can in no way qualify as full remorse as he continues to justify his killing of a communist,” said Masutha.
Knight said the psychologist’s comments have no factual basis.
“The fact is Walus never said ‘I’m sorry that I killed the husband, I’m sorry that I killed the father but for Hani I’m not sorry at all’. He never said that.”
“What the psychologist said is, ‘I get the feeling that he’s sorry’.”
Knight said the psychologist’s report also said Walus was at low risk of reoffending.
“The minister prejudged the matter, he picked and chose what suited him in reaching his conclusion.”
He added that, although the matter was given back to him out of courtesy “the court is not going to make the same mistake twice”.
Masutha said he applied the law when making his decision.
“I have taken into account the relevant laws and prescripts that regulate our parole process, in particular, the provisions of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998.”
He added that Walus has not acquired any academic or vocational skills during his time in jail and recommended that the department assist in this regard.
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