JOHANNESBURG: South Africa recently commemorated the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Chris Hani, an antiapartheid activist, a hugely popular figure, and leader for the South African Communist Party, was gunned down by Janusz Walus, a white supremacist on April 10, 1993.
Three decades later, many South Africans continue to have questions about the killing, suspecting that Walus and his accomplice did not act alone. Conspiracy theories, involving anyone from the secret services to the ANC, continue to abound.
At a memorial ceremony attended by SACP party leaders and foreign dignitaries, Hani’s widow, Limpho, expressed her lack of closure, stating that until the truth comes out, she will remain in mourning for life. Last week, the SACP called for a fresh inquest into the murder, with a petition hoping to collect 30,000 signatures. SACP’s leader, Solly Mapaila, said that there were many factors that were not properly investigated, and they need to know the truth.
Hani was 50 years old when he was shot dead in the driveway of his home in eastern Johannesburg in front of his 15-year-old daughter. The incident led to protests and rioting in black townships, as anger within South Africa’s black majority reached boiling point. Nelson Mandela appeared on national television to appeal for calm, which helped ease tensions and open the way to South Africa’s first multi-racial elections the following year.
Walus and his accomplice, Clive Derby-Lewis, had hoped to spark a racial conflict but were quickly arrested. Derby-Lewis was released in 2015 on medical parole after 22 years in jail, and he died of lung cancer in 2016 at the age of 80. Walus was released on parole in December last year in a controversial decision. Limpho Hani criticized the democratic government for releasing her husband’s assassin, stating that the killer is free and the opportunity for full truth on the wide conspiracy of Chris Hani’s assassination is now buried and lost completely.
