‘Considering this fact, placing offender Walus on parole would negate the severity that the court sought when sentencing him.’
Pretoria – Chris Hani’s assassin Janusz Walus will remain behind bars after Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola denied his placement on parole on Monday morning.
The minister said: “It is clear that the political assassination of the late Hani was executed with the intention to create chaos and mayhem in the country. The record before me clearly reveals that the (trial) court took this fact into consideration when sentencing Walus to death.”
The minister said the 1993 assassination was intended and had the potential to bring about a civil war within the Republic at the time.
“It must also be noted that Walus was convicted of murder with no extenuating circumstances having been found to be present. I have also taken note of the legal regime applicable based on the date on which Walus committed the crime. This implies that should it be my decision to approve his placement on parole, he would be on parole for a maximum period of three years, less any possible remissions for which he might qualify.”
“Considering this fact, placing offender Walus on parole would negate the severity that the court sought when sentencing him. With this premise, and balancing both negative and positive factors, the placement on parole for offender Walus is not approved at this stage,” Lamola concluded.
Judge Jody Kollapen in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, last year overturned former minister Michael Masutha’s refusal to grant parole to the 64-year-old immigrant.
The judge, however, put the decision in Lamola’s hands as he felt it was not the place of the court to decide on parole. He gave the minister 60 days in which to reconsider parole.
Walus has spent 27 years behind bars at the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre in Pretoria.
Pretoria News
