In South Africa, the expected release of the murderer of black freedom fighter Chris Hani is fueling violent protests.

On Wednesday, protesters marched to Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, where offender Janusz Walus had been imprisoned for almost 30 years.

The ruling party ANC, the South African Communist Party and trade unions called for the protest march.

Posters read "Chris Hani must not be killed again".

Claudia Bröll

Political correspondent for Africa based in Cape Town.

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Walus, a Polish immigrant, shot and killed Hani outside his home in Johannesburg.

The Easter Saturday 1993 attack had sparked fears of civil war in South Africa just a year before the first democratic elections.

Walus was initially sentenced to death and later to life imprisonment.

His accomplice, who was also convicted, died in 2016.

On Tuesday, Walus was attacked and injured in prison by a prisoner with a knife while serving food.

According to a report by the News24 news channel, the attacker was an ardent ANC supporter.

Outside, rioters desecrated the grave of Hani, who had been a senior member of the Communist Party and ANC.

Walus' release had been the subject of struggle for years

South Africa's constitutional court ruled a week ago to grant 69-year-old Walus parole.

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said he should leave prison within 10 days.

The deadline is reportedly set to expire this Thursday.

A dismissal has been fought behind the scenes for years.

Walus had applied for it several times, but changing justice ministers turned it down.

Zondo has now declared the latest decision to be "irrational".

The minister had exceeded his powers and disregarded the recommendations of the responsible review body.

According to the judge, Walus had repeatedly apologized to Hanis' widow and family.

A release is also justified because of good behavior in prison.

The decision sparked much outrage.

The widow Hanis, some ANC politicians, members of the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters and the Communist Party spoke of "betrayal" of all those who fought against apartheid.

But there are also many voices that describe the protests as exaggerated.

Walus and his accomplice had applied for amnesty before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997, but had failed.

The decision was controversial.

The commission had argued that the two had acted alone and had no political motives.

A landmark ANC party conference is imminent

A few weeks before a landmark ANC party conference, the court decision has fueled tensions between radical and moderate members in the party.

On the same day, the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that former President Jacob Zuma should be returned to prison.

He was released early for health reasons, but kept appearing in public.

He was spotted opening a restaurant in Durban last weekend.

Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in prison last year for contempt of the Constitutional Court.

However, he spent only a short time in prison.

Whether Walus will actually be able to leave prison in Thursday's commotion is still unclear.

He has been in the prison infirmary since the knife attack.

He was "stable" and receiving the necessary medical care, it said.

South Africa's Ministry of the Interior has now granted an exemption so that he can spend the probationary period in South Africa.

In 2017, the authorities revoked his South African citizenship.

There was also speculation in the media about extradition to Poland.

There Walus is supposedly revered as a hero by some right-wing extremists.