Cape Town —
Constitutional Court Orders Release of Hani Killer, Janusz Waluś
In a judgment handed down yesterday afternoon, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo ordered the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to release Janusz Waluś, the man who assassinated South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani, within 10 days. Hani’s family have expressed their disappointment with the decision. Hani’s wife Limpho blamed Zondo for a “miscarriage of justice”. She added: “In this country, a foreign white can come to this country and kill my husband.”
Public Sector Digs In Heels on Wage Demand as Strike Intensifies
The Public Servants Association has said it is going ahead with its strike action today, with thousands of workers demanding a better wage deal. The union said that the Acting Minister of Public Service and Administration is deliberately misleading the public regarding the implementation of a 7.5% wage offer. It said that the last official offer of the employer remains a disappointing 3%. Meanwhile the Department of Public Service and Administration has adopted a “no-work-no-pay” policy for workers who strike today.
Cosatu Joins Call to Ban Pitbulls as Pets
Trade union federation Cosatu said that it supported the petition to ban pit bulls after a three-year-old was mauled to death in the Free State. The child was attacked by two pit bulls while he was playing outside with his friends this past weekend. The union’s national spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, said that this breed of canine should not be kept as pets, and should be banned as other countries have done. He said the government should take immediate action. Meanwhile, the Pitbull Federation of South Africa has clarified that the owners of pitbulls who had handed over their dogs to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) were doing so because they could no longer cope with the dog’s behaviour.