Pretoria - Quick action by Correctional Services officers prevented Gauteng ANC and SACP supporters from storming the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre yesterday with the aim of pouncing on Janusz Walus – the killer of SACP general secretary Chris Hani.
Drama unfolded at the main entrance of the prison when some of the protesters rushed at the gate with the clear intention to open it and allow fellow protesters to gain access into the maximum security gaol.
They were baying for Walus’s blood after the Constitutional Court ordered that Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola release him on parole.
But their plan was quickly foiled as Correctional Services officers overpowered them and closed the gate. The attempt to storm the centre happened despite reports from Correctional Services that Walus was receiving medical treatment at a government hospital after he was stabbed by a fellow prisoner on Tuesday.
SACP and ANC members march to the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility to protest against the release of Chris Hani's killer Janusz Walus on parole. @SACP1921 @GautengANC #JanuszWalus pic.twitter.com/r72SXBY6EJ
It is not clear if the protesters acted out of instinct – Gauteng ANC leader Panyaza Lesufi seemed to have approved of their failed act. Lesufi told the Correctional Services officers, who stood guard, to open the gates and allow them access to Walus. “We are here for Janusz Walus, and not you. We want to ruffle him up a bit before throwing him up in the air,” the Gauteng premier said.
Lesufi’s comments were supported by thousands of people and some were clearly agitating for a revenge attack on Walus, saying the person who stabbed Walus – believed to be a former member of Umkhonto we Sizwe – had not completed the job. These sentiments were echoed by Lesufi.
ANC national executive committee member Nomvula Mokonyane indirectly echoed these views at a gathering in Cape Town, saying “Janusz Walus’s bigger things are coming”.
“If Janusz Walus is released on parole, we want Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi to give us his address,” Mokonyane said.
SACP and ANC members march to the Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility to protest against the release of Chris Hani's killer Janusz Walus on parole. @SACP1921 @GautengANC #JanuszWalus pic.twitter.com/inOZFEJJhN
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A common refrain of these leaders was their condemnation of the Constitutional Court ruling, adding that the justices failed to acknowledge that Hani’s widow, Limpho Hani, was not consulted prior to the decision to release Walus on parole.
SACP general secretary Solly Mapaila said his party had also not been consulted. Mapaila said it was for these reasons that they filed an application to the Constitutional Court to rescind the parole. Despite opposing the parole, Mapaila endorsed Motsoaledi’s decision to restore Walus’s citizenship.
Pretoria News