The South African Communist Party (SACP) and the family of freedom fighter Chris Hani, represented by his widow Limpho Hani, on Wednesday repeated a call for a thorough inquest into the assassination of Chris Hani and urged the State to act urgently.

The party and family were responding to a recent interview given by Hani’s killer Janusz Waluś which they said underscored his “ongoing evasion of accountability, and his intentional lack of remorse".

The interview, which aired on Sunday, was pre-arranged and recorded in Poland, following Waluś’s release on parole in 2024 under a Constitutional Court order.

“Let it be clear: the struggle for justice, equality and the complete dismantling of apartheid’s legacy is not over. We will not allow the memory of Chris Hani to be tarnished, nor will we permit unrepentant assassins to distort the truth of our history,” said the SACP.

Hani was shot and killed on April 10, 1993, outside his home in Boksburg, Johannesburg.

“While Clive Derby-Lewis has since died after being granted medical parole, Waluś remains unrepentant,” the SACP highlighted.

The party noted that Waluś revealed no new information during the interview.

“Although this was a mere interview and nothing under oath, the assassin’s refusal to engage meaningfully, often claiming he would ‘restrict himself to what is relevant’, underscores his ongoing evasion of accountability, and his intentional lack of remorse,” the SACP added.

The SACP and the Hani family have consistently maintained that Waluś remains unremorseful.

“This was argued extensively in court, including at the Constitutional Court, where Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and his concurring judges insisted otherwise, that Waluś had shown remorse. Instead, to our surprise, the court placed the burden of remorse on Limpho Hani by citing her rejection of, or so-called non-reply to, Waluś’ letter of apology – which she never received,” the party stated.

Limpho Hani had responded, “I never knew how strong I was until I had to forgive someone who wasn’t sorry, and accept an apology I never received.”

The party said the deep disappointment in the judgment delivered in 2022 has been reignited by Waluś’s continued display of no remorse.

“…his open declaration that he would assassinate Chris Hani again under similar circumstances demonstrates his complete lack of regret and exposes the flawed assertion of his supposed remorse. Waluś’s interview underscored his deeply entrenched racism and white supremacist ideology, including the apartheid-era malicious agenda to sow division among the black majority and turn them against each other,” the SACP stated.

The party said Waluś disparaged South Africa’s black majority, by insisting that they should have been confined to the apartheid-imposed bantustans, which is where, he further insisted, their right to vote should have been restricted.

“This would have left South Africa as a white supremacists-dominated country and State. His utterances are a stark reminder of the oppressive ideologies that drove his heinous crime. The SACP and the Hani family condemn in the strongest possible terms Waluś’s unrepentant stance, his racist attitude and his continued glorification of apartheid-era atrocities,” the party highlighted.

The SACP said his utterances insult Chris Hani’s memory, the sacrifices of South Africans and the democratic gains that Hani dedicated his life to achieve.