Janusz Walus stabbed in South African prison - BBC

The far-right gunman who killed South Africa's anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani has been stabbed successful prison, officials say.

The stabbing of Janusz Walus comes days earlier helium was owed to beryllium released connected parole aft astir 30 years successful jail.

He was allegedly stabbed by different captive and is successful a unchangeable condition.

Walus, 69, changeable Mr Hani successful 1993 successful a failed effort to derail South Africa's modulation from white-minority regularisation to antiauthoritarian rule.

The sidesplitting inactive evokes heavy emotions successful South Africa. Mr Hani was regarded arsenic the astir fashionable person aft anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.

South Africa's authorities and Mr Hani's widow Limpho vigorously opposed Walus's attempts to summation his freedom.

But successful a ruling connected 21 November, South Africa's highest tribunal ordered his merchandise wrong 10 days, saying the justness minister's refusal to assistance him parole was "irrational".

In a little statement, the situation section said it could corroborate the "unfortunate stabbing incident" involving Walus.

Healthcare officials were providing him with the "necessary care", it added.

The BBC understands his attacker tried to stab him successful the heart.

The onslaught came aft a monument successful honour of Mr Hani was vandalised connected Saturday astatine the cemetery wherever helium is buried.

The governing African National Congress (ANC) and its allies described the incidental arsenic a "provocative attack", and "tantamount to a continuation of Chris Hani's assassination successful the grave".

The vandalism should beryllium seen successful the discourse of the court's ruling, which had "pleased unrepentant apartheid perpetrators", the ANC said, successful a connection issued jointly with the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

Walus killed Mr Hani arsenic helium picked up the newspapers extracurricular his location successful April 1993 by shooting him astatine point-blank range.

Walus was arrested and sentenced to death. The condemnation was commuted to beingness aft South Africa abolished the decease penalty.

The 50-year-old anti-apartheid combatant was the person of the SACP and a elder subordinate of the ANC's subject wing.

Walus is simply a Polish migrant whose South African citizenship was revoked successful 2017.

Some South Africans person called for his deportation to forestall civilian unrest.

However, the authorities has ruled it out, saying helium would service his parole successful South Africa.

White-minority regularisation successful South Africa ended successful 1994, with Mr Mandela becoming the country's archetypal achromatic president.