THE convicted killer of South African anti-apartheid hero Chris Hani has been stabbed in prison, two days before he was due to be released on parole, prison authorities said Tuesday.

Janusz Walus, an ultra right-wing Polish national, was set to be released on Thursday after the country’s Constitutional Court last week ordered his release on parole within 10 days.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting and killing Mr Hani at close range in the driveway of his Dawn Park, Boksburg, home on April 10 1993.

The murder took place during a volatile political climate, just as the country was transitioning from apartheid to democracy, almost plunging the country into political violence.

Correctional services department spokesman Singabakho Nxumalo said: “The Department of Correctional Services is able to confirm an unfortunate stabbing incident involving inmate Janusz Walus.”

He reported that Mr Walus was receiving medical attention from the prison medical services.

News of Mr Walus’s pending release has been met with anger and disappointment from various sectors of society, including from the South African Communist Party, of which Mr Hani was general secretary at the time of his death.

The widow of Mr Hani, Limpho, condemned the decision to release the killer as “truly diabolical.”

On Monday, the government announced that Mr Walus would be granted an exemption for residence in the country so that he could serve the rest of his sentence on parole in South Africa and would not be deported to his native Poland.

The announcement followed revelations that the grave of Mr Hani was vandalised in Ekurhuleni over last weekend.

In a joint statement from trade unions, the ANC and the SACP condemned the attack, warning that the grave was attacked in the context of a judgement that “pleased unrepentant apartheid perpetrators.”

ANC spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said: “The monument was vandalised overnight from Saturday to Sunday. One of the pillars is badly damaged. One side collapsed and the lighting system was stolen.”

The monument consists of four marble columns symbolising the pillars of the struggle against white power led by the ANC, in power since the advent of democracy in 1994.

Dozens of people gathered at the Hall of Heroes of the Anti-Apartheid Struggle for a demonstration at the weekend against the release of Mr Walus.