Political pressure has led to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Michael Masutha opposing any means to release Chris Hani’s murderer Janusz Walus on parole‚ the high court in Pretoria heard on Wednesday. Walus applied to be released on parole pending appeal proceedings against his release‚ by the minister‚ that were before the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA).Last month‚ Pretoria High Court Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen ordered that Walus be released on parole.After Masutha failed in his bid to apply for leave to appeal against her judgment last week‚ he indicated he would petition the Supreme Court of Appeal.This meant Walus would have to stay in prison pending the appeal.However‚ the Superior Courts Act allow a person in Walus’ case to apply for the enforcement of Janse van Nieuwenhuizen’s order pending the minister’s appeal proceedings.Addressing Janse van Nieuwenhuizen on Wednesday‚ Walus’ counsel Roelof du Plessis SC said there would be no prejudice to the minister if he released Walus on parole pending the appeal.“If it turns out that you were correct in the judgment that he be released on parole‚ he would be incarcerated for at least another year‚” Du Plessis said.He asked if the appeal by the minister to the SCA failed‚ how was the minister going to add another year to Walus’ life?He also said other convicted murderers had been placed on parole earlier than Walus.He said the matter was not about who Walus killed‚ it was about the rule of law.“The opposition (to his release) is because of minister’s bias and because of political pressure on the minister‚” Du Plessis said.The minister’s counsel‚ Marumo Moerane SC‚ opposed the application and said exceptional circumstances did not exist for his release on parole.Moerane said the fact that other convicted prisoners who committed murders were released earlier than Walus did not constitute exceptional circumstances that warranted his release.Walus‚ 63‚ was sentenced to death in 1993 for the murder of Hani‚ who was the secretary-general of the South African Communist Party‚ a member of the African National Congress’ national executive committee and uMkhonto we Sizwe leader.Walus’ sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after the Constitutional Court declared in 1995 that capital punishment was inconsistent with the Constitution.The application by Walus continues.– TMG Digital..