A NOTORIOUS far-right extremist, convicted of murdering South African anti-apartheid hero Chris Hani, is set to be deported to his native Poland, the government has said.
Janusz Walus, 71, gunned down Hani outside his home in 1993 at a tense time when the country was preparing its first multi-racial elections.
He spent almost three decades in prison in South Africa before being freed on parole in 2022, sparking protests and an outcry, in a nation still grappling with racism and apartheid’s legacy.
Walus is set to leave South Africa on Friday night and the Polish government will pay for the deportation, said Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.
South African Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the decision wasn’t one the government had made, but they were adhering to the decision made by the Constitutional Court.
Schreiber said on X it was a “painful day” and a reminder of the “dark time” of apartheid for South Africans.
Hani’s widow, Limpho Hani, voiced her anguish, condemning the government and the South African Communist Party (SACP) for only notifying her at the last minute. She said she was only informed of Walus’s release on Thursday.
Hani was a key member of the African National Congress (ANC), which led the fight against white-minority rule and has been in power ever since, and also head of the South African Communist Party. Since his murder, he has become revered as a hero of the fight for freedom and equality in the country.
The ANC reflected on the pain caused by Hani’s assassination and said the release was a reminder of “the bullet that pierced through our hearts, assassinating a father and comrade”.
“Your dastardly hand drips of the blood of a martyr and freedom fighter who paid the ultimate price for the freedom and love for humanity, democracy, and justice,” it read.
