Janusz Walus, the killer of South African anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani nearly three decades ago, was stabbed in prison and is receiving treatment, authorities said on Tuesday.
Walus, 69, a Polish citizen, was granted parole by South Africa’s Constitutional Court last week and was expected to be released imminently. The decision was met with fierce criticism and protests across the country.
“Inmate Walus is stable and DCS healthcare officials are providing the necessary care,” the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) said in a statement.
He was stabbed by another inmate from the same housing unit, the department said, without providing further details on the incident or the identity of the stabber.
Hani, a senior member of the now-ruling African National Congress and head of the South African Communist Party at the time, was shot by Walus outside the anti-apartheid activist’s home in 1993.
His killing triggered nationwide riots that threatened to derail South Africa’s transition to multi-racial democracy after decades of white minority rule under apartheid.
Walus had emigrated from then-communist Poland in 1981 and became involved in far-right politics in South Africa.
South Africa’s Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Monday granted residence to Walus so that he could serve his parole period in the country.
