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The department of correctional services is investigating the stabbing of Janusz Walus, the man who was convicted of murdering Chris Hani.
Walus was set to be released on parole on Thursday after the Constitutional Court, through Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, ruled that Minister Ronald Lamola place him on parole. The department described the incident as unfortunate.
READ: ‘We feel betrayed’ – Chris Hani’s family
“A detailed incident report is to be provided at a later stage, but what can be stated at this point is that inmate Walus is stable and the department’s healthcare officials are providing the necessary care,” the department said in a statement.
The department said that Walus was allegedly stabbed by another inmate from the same housing unit.
It added:
The Constitutional Court’s ruling has received a lot of backlash. Mphatheli Hani, the nephew of the slain communist leader, told City Press that the ruling left the family “pained and angry”.
“One might do nothing about it, but we are pained because Thembisile died in the line of duty,” he said.
The SACP described the ruling as sickeningly disappointing.
“The assassination of Chris Hani left a gaping wound in his family, the SACP and the ranks of the working class. The judgment has rubbed salt granules into the wound. Hani was assassinated for being a communist, for leading the struggle for democracy in our country, but the Hani family permanently lost a husband, father, uncle, you name it all,” the party said in a statement following the ruling.
READ: Walus could receive 'hero's welcome' from right-wing groups if sent back to Poland
The ANC, with the SACP, and alliance partners will on Wednesday be picketing against the ruling, marching to the Kgosi Mapuru prison. Over the weekend, the party marched to the Constitutional Court, calling for Walus not to be released.
On Monday, Hani’s memorial site was vandalised in Ekurhuleni. The alliance partners labelled the incident as provocative, calling for it to be ‘swiftly investigated’.
“This is how South Africa has now become re-divided. It is in this context that the attack on the Chris Hani Memorial Site occurred, posing a threat to societal stability, just as the assassination of Chris Hani did,” a statement released on Monday said.
