The release of Walus, the man who pressed South Africa’s nuclear button

[View in browser]( [Mail & Guardian]( M&G Mornings | Tue 29 Nov   Raised in a house full of women, one can understand why every single school holiday, I’d escape from home and visit my cousins, who lived across the way in one of the main townships in the small town of Pietermaritzburg, Imbali. It was a chance as a young teen to get away and be as rambunctious as any boy was at that age, minus the lectures that come with the behaviour. At that time in the early nineties, townships across most of the country and especially in Kwazulu-Natal were tension-filled, I remember being urged not to wear particular colours of clothing as it would either denote that I’m from an ANC supporting home or Inkatha Freedom Party – and depending on which street I’d ventured into, it could spell trouble. Unit 13, Imbali, was a section of the township considered more aligned with the ANC’s agenda than the Zulu nationalism that defined the IFP at the time – or so my young mind thought. While I enjoyed running up and down the hills of Imbali or Umlazi, my Durban escape, the tension was ever present. What a time to be alive, as the country navigated its path to its first democratic election. Thoughts of my more innocent age came to mind last week with the news of the imminent release of Janusz Walus – the man who assassinated South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani in 1993. The mention of his name immediately took me back to the township of Imbali and the Easter holiday when Hani was assassinated. His death may have taken place more than 470 kilometres away, but its reverberations were being felt on those streets. At that stage, all talk of a political settlement was off the table, a civil war was inevitable and what I knew and experienced as a deadly IFP/ANC factional war in my province would now be national. For a 13-year old, dreaming of a better future, it was a nightmare. I vividly remember a conversation with Thando, an older cousin – who’d routinely go on night time patrols against both police and IFP-led raids in the township – about what would soon unfold. Walus had essentially pressed the nuclear button as it looked at that point that the country would blow up in our faces, collapse in a heap and we’d experience an unravelling similar to what most of sub-Saharan Africa had experienced in the years after their freedom. It’s a traumatic memory, not only for a little boy in a tiny little township on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg in 1993, but I imagine for the vast majority old enough to consider their own futures. (Load shedding, how I wish that was my ultimate concern back then, and not whether or not my cousin would come back from his nightly patrols that evening.) The release of Walus – in line with our laws this December – is not a small matter. Much like Gavrilo Princip, who lit the flames to World War 1 in 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, his actions were seminal. The real “miracle” is that we didn’t choose that path, and for perhaps that reason alone above all else, I still applaud the leadership of our elder statesmen and women of the time – Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Walter Sisulu amongst others. I’m torn by his release, understanding full and well that the laws of this country must be upheld – regardless of the trauma that men such as Walus have put us through. His release should perhaps be a time to reflect how far we’ve come, and just how far we are yet to travel. Next April, we will mark 30 years since the passing of Hani – we’d do well as a country to reflect on the path we chose that day, and where we are on that journey. Thanks again for being a supporter of the Mail & Guardian, speak again tomorrow… Ron Derby | Editor-in-Chief @RonDerby [Subscribe now]( to enjoy unlimited access to The Mail & Guardian for only R99 per month.   [Walus to serve out parole in SA, not Poland]( Home affairs said an exemption had been granted to the man who killed Chris Hani to remain as parole conditions would not be imposed in his native country Join thousands of South Africans who want a more just South Africa. Read past party lines, past the bluster and the distortion. Get the best reporting, analysis and commentary that is factual, balanced and fair with uninterrupted access to all Mail & Guardian content online. 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