[imagesource: Flickr / Robert Cutts]

In April 1993,  Polish national Janusz Walus assassinated Chris Hani in Boksburg.

Hani was the leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC).

Clive Derby-Lewis, who provided Walus with the gun he used to murder Hani, died in 2016, one year after being granted parole.

In a ruling last week that caused much anger and consternation across the country, the Constitutional Court stated that Walus must be released on parole. It’s likely that he will return to Poland if and when he is released, which is probably a good idea given how hated he is on these shores.

It’s a different story in Poland, where he has become a cult figure in right-wing circles, reports City Press:

…he started receiving letters from supporters in his native country about 10 years ago.

In addition to the banners, his supporters regularly wear scarves emblazoned with his face and the hashtag #StayStrongBrother, while a song about him is often sung at football matches.

Dr Rafal Pankowski, from Never Again association, an anti-racist group, told the BBC in the past that fans are not calling on Walus’ release on humanitarian grounds. Instead, “they are glorifying what he did and the ideology”.

Janusz Walus (69), the Polish immigrant who assassinated Chris Hani at his home in Dawn Park, Boksburg, nearly 30 years ago, can expect a hero’s welcome in his native country should the South African government send him back there https://t.co/YIqPJMWJcl. pic.twitter.com/rbvhEuiNnD

— City Press (@City_Press) November 28, 2022

In 2020, scarves, a T-shirt, and a sticker bearing the name and image of Walus had been put up for sale on OLX’s Polish website. These items have since been removed. OLX is owned by technology-investment company Prosus, which is a subsidiary of Naspers.

The latter released a statement saying that “right-wing elements in Poland have violated the terms of use of the OLX Poland platform” and items were removed as soon as they were flagged.

The most likely parole release date is December 5 (next Monday), and certain conditions will need to be met before he could return to Poland.

Reports suggest authorities and Walus’ legal team agree that it is in everyone’s best interests if he does just that. There are quite a few people who would like to cross paths with him, including Jacob Zuma’s daughter:

The Release Of That Racist Within 10 Days Is Because The Handlers Know That Akabuyi

Whoever Is Working On The Paperwork Of The Release Of That Assassin It Is Your Patrioctic Duty To Leak That Information So We Can Organize A Welcome Team So That We Can Take Him Out

— Dudu Zuma-Sambudla (@DZumaSambudla) November 22, 2022

The South African Communist Party is now calling on the Correctional Services Minister to defy the Constitutional Court and delay Walus’s release from prison and says it will appeal to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

The ANC also picketed outside the Constitutional Court this weekend.

[source:citypress]