Masutha's application to keep Janusz Walus behind bars dismissed
The High Court in Pretoria on Thursday dismissed Justice Minister Michael Masutha's application for leave to appeal an earlier high court judgment which ordered the release of Janusz Walus, the man who murdered South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani.
"I make the following order: the first respondent's (Masutha) application for leave to appeal is dismissed," Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen told a packed high court.
"The first respondent is ordered to pay the costs of the application, which costs include the costs of two counsels."
Hani was shot and killed by Walus on Easter Sunday, 10 April, 1993. Walus was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in October 1993, but this was later commuted to life imprisonment.
Walus's application to be released on parole was initially turned down by Masutha, after which the convicted murderer sought the intervention of the high court to make a ruling for him to be released on parole.
His erstwhile co-accused Clive Derby-Lewis, who was also given a life sentence, was released on medical parole last year.
On 10 March, the High Court ordered that Walus be released on parole within 14 days, prompting Masutha to apply for leave to appeal.