09 October 2002
Today’s edition of The Star Newspaper carries a story that the killers of Chris Hani (the late General Secretary of the South African Communist Party - SACP), Clive Derby-Lewis and Janus Walus, intend to apply for parole. The article also quotes Archbishop Desmond Tutu saying that Derby-Lewis and Walus are entitled to their constitutional rights including the right to parole.
The SACP rejects this attempt by Derby-Lewis and Walus to overturn a decision of the Amnesty Committee the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) not to grant them amnesty for the killing of Chris Hani. This TRC decision was based on the fact that these convicted killers did not tell the truth. They have not expressed remorse over the killing. The TRC decision vindicated the Hani family and SACP argument that there was a wider conspiracy in the killing of Chris Hani Derby-Lewis and Walus have not yet disclosed as required by the TRC Act.
In fact, in December 2000 the Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa dismissed an application by Derby-Lewis and Walus to overturn this TRC decision. Given that there is still no full disclosure and that the parole process will not even attempt to address this question, there is no legal basis for the current attempt to overturn the TRC Amnesty Committee decision by applying for parole.
The killing of Chris Hani was a direct attack on democracy and the struggle for socialism. As the SACP we will not rest until the full facts about the killing of Chris Hani are disclosed. The SACP calls on government to ensure that Derby-Lewis and Walus serve their prison terms in full.
CONTACT
Mazibuko Kanyiso. Jara (surname Jara)
Department of Media, Information Publicity
South African Communist Party
Tel - 011 339-3621/2 Fax - 011 339-4244 Cell - 083 651 0271
Email – mazibuko@sacp.org.za