In South Africa, the murderer of a figure in the struggle against apartheid stabbed in prison
ANC members at a previous demonstration on November 24, 2022 in Cape Town against the release of Janusz Walus.
© ESA ALEXANDER / REUTERS
Text by: RFI Follow
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Janus Walus was due out in two days after nearly 30 years in custody for the 1993 murder of Chris Hani.
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Janusz Walus was receiving treatment on Tuesday evening after being stabbed by another inmate, according to the prison administration.
He was said to be in “stable condition”.
The imminent release on parole of this 69-year-old man
was controversial in South Africa
, as the man he murdered almost 30 years ago remains a major figure in the fight against apartheid.
His memory is honored every year.
On April 10, 1993, Janusz Walus, a Polish immigrant linked to the white and Afrikaner extreme right, shot Chris Hani at close range.
The latter dies on the spot, in the driveway of his garage.
He is 50 years old.
His assassination provoked riots in the townships, while political negotiations were carried out to organize the country's first democratic elections the following year.
The new regime resulting from the 1994 election commuted the death sentence of Janusz Walus to life imprisonment.
He had been applying for parole for 20 years.
Justice granted it to him last week.
Dozens of people had demonstrated against this decision, described as “
diabolical
” by the widow of Chris Hani.
Janusz Walus was due out in two days at the latest.
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