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S.A remembers slain anti-apartheid leader Hani amid calls for fresh investigations

Demonstrators stage a protest outside the Kgosi Mampuru prison against the release on parole of Janusz Walus, on Nov. 30, 2022.   -  
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South Africa

30 years after the assassination of anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani, many South Africans are still grief-stricken.

The nation on Monday (Apr. 10) commemorated the activist. Speaking at a memorial ceremony, his widow Limpho Hani said she doesn’t "have closure."

The South African Communist Party (SACP), a long-time ally of the ruling ANC in the fight against apartheid called for a fresh inquest into the murder, with a petition hoping to collect 30,000 signatures.

Aged 50, Hani was shot dead in the driveway of his home in Johannesburg on April 10, 1993.

The hugely popular figure and then SACP leader was gunned down in front of his daughter by Janusz Walus.

Walus’s and his accomplice, Clive Derby-Lewis, had hoped to spark a civil unrest. 1993 was indeed a pivotal year as negotiations to end apartheid had entered their final phase.

Janusz Walus who was convicted for murder in October 1993 later cited political, anti-communist motives to kill Hani.

Three decades on, many South Africans harbour questions about the killing, suspecting the convicted did not act alone.

Walus's release on parole last December sparked controversy.

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