Members of Parliament (MP’s) have raised eyebrows at the release of political prisoner Janusz Walus after failing to show remorse for the brutal murder.
Janusz was sentenced to life in prison for the 1993 killing of the South African Communist Party Secretary General, Chris Hani. After serving his three-year parole in December 2022, he was deported to Poland in 2024.
On Tuesday, the portfolio committee on correctional services received a briefing on the process that leads to the cancellation as well as the revocation of parole of inmates serving life sentences. A particular emphasis was placed on the concerns of granting parole to inmates who showed no remorse for their crimes, one of whom was Janusz.
This comes after the convicted killer appeared in an interview on ENCA, where he confessed that if he were given the opportunity, he would do it again, therefore showing no remorse.
This has since raised questions from those in attendance. Members of Parliament later enquired whether it would be possible that he be extradited and re-incarcerated for this.
Commenting on the matter was committee member Marlon Daniels, who said:
“We are in full support in checking out the prospects of extraditing Janusz Walus back to South Africa. In particular, the fact that there’s no remorse.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Correctional Affairs Peter Groenewalt mentioned that this would not be possible as Janusz falls within the terms of the Van Vuren Constitutional Court judgement, which referred to those sentenced to life before 1 March 1994 and that at that time a life sentence meant serving between 10 – 15 years imprisonment before they were released on parole for three years. This emphasised the fact that Janusz therefore completed his sentence, as was the case with several other inmates who were sentenced to life at that time.
