EFF Calls for an "Honest and Open" Probe Into Hani's Murder

(The Post News)– The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), in commemoration of the anti-apartheid activist and South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani, has demanded an “honest and open” investigation into the case of his assassination.

Hani was assassinated by the notorious far-right extremist from Poland, Janusz Walus, outside his home in 1993 after a series of meetings with the National Party member Clive Derby-Lewis , a year before the first general democratic elections. Walus was convicted for Hani’s murder, and he spent 29 years in prison after he was freed by authorities under strict conditions. He was convicted together with Derby-Lewis.

EFF said the murder of Hani was not just a loss of a man but was a direct attack on a vision of a truly free, equal and just South Africa. Furthermore, EFF believes that the full truth behind his killing is still a mystery that is “protected by a political and economic system that fears exposure”.

According to the EFF, when the Apartheid era came to an end in SA, Hani was poised to become a revolutionary leader, as he steadfastly supported economic justice, land redistribution, and socialism. The party emphasised that they reject “silence, denial and half-truths” and claimed that the release of Walus, “the man who pulled the trigger without full accountability for those who orchestrated the assassination”, is a betrayal of the people.

EFF strongly believes that Walus did not work alone—given the “intimate knowledge” he had of Hani’s whereabouts on the day of the assassination. EFF also asserted that Hani posed a threat to the interest of White Monopoly Capitalists and to those within the African National Congress (ANC), who “had already begun compromising the revolution and turning away from the call for the return of the land and the wealth of South Africa to its rightful owners.”

EFF also mentioned that Hani’s unwavering commitment to the struggle and the fact that he “could not be bought” made him the target for those who feared the truly liberated South Africa. Meanwhile, last year, Hani’s family, together with the SACP, also urged that an inquest into his death be open. According to Hani’s family and the SACP, the release of Walus and his co-accused, Derby-Lewis, ignores the fact that neither of them provided all the details about the assassination.