The South African Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has dismissed efforts by Chris Hani’s widow, Limpho Hani, and the South African Communist Party (SACP) to reconsider its decision to order the release of Janusz Walus, the killer of anti-apartheid activist Chris Hani. In a three-page ruling, the ConCourt said that the applicants had failed to make out a case for reconsideration, effectively upholding its earlier decision to release Walus on parole.
This decision comes after the ConCourt ordered the release of Walus on parole earlier this week, despite opposition from Hani and the SACP. The ConCourt’s ruling to dismiss their efforts to reconsider the release decision highlights the difficulty of overturning such decisions in the South African legal system.
In its ruling, the ConCourt explained that it had “noted that there was much overlap between the submissions of the Minister [of Correctional Services Ronald Lamola in regards to Walus’ parole] and those of the applicants [Limpho Hani and the SACP] and these were adequately considered”. The court also stated that the two main factors on which the Minister had based his refusal of Walus’ parole application were essentially the same as the arguments made by Hani and the SACP.
Furthermore, the ConCourt dismissed Hani and the SACP’s application for it to stay its Walus release order until its reconsideration application was finalized. This means that Walus was released on parole as planned on Wednesday, despite Hani and the SACP’s efforts to prevent it.
The dismissal of Hani and the SACP’s efforts by the ConCourt is a significant blow to their attempts to keep Walus in prison. It also serves as a reminder of the difficulty of overturning decisions made by the country’s highest court.
