Right-Wing Groups - South African Government Information

142. At first, Derby-Lewis refused to co-operate with the police. It was only after he
was detained in terms of section 29 of the Internal Security Act that, under prolonged
interrogation and pre s s u re, he made certain statements. He gave false
information, notably about the list of names, in order to protect innocent people
including his wife. He was also untruthful when he told the police that he had
last seen Walus in December 1992.
143. He also gave false information in the affidavit he made (dated 29 October 1993)
in support of the application to reopen his case in the criminal trial. He testified
that he did so because he believed that the political struggle was still continuing
at that stage and that he had to explore every avenue to secure his re l e a s e .
The Testimony of Janusz Walus
144. The Committee found that Mr Janusz Walus was a member of both the CP and
the AWB at the time of the incident. He was born in Poland and emigrated to
South Africa in 1982 to escape the Communist regime in Poland. He chose South
Africa because he believed that the Afrikaner would never succumb to Communism.
145. The Committee heard that Walus had a keen interest in South African politics
and met Derby-Lewis and his wife in 1985. He participated in many CP activities
with Derby-Lewis and formally joined the CP that year. In the same year, Walus met
AWB leader Eugene Terre’Blanche and subsequently joined the AWB. He attended
various AWB meetings during 1985 and 1986 and learnt of their resistance to NP
policies and their fear that the NP would hand the country over to ‘Communists’.
146. Walus was granted South African citizenship in 1988 and was able to vote in
the 1989 elections. Although the NP gave voters the assurance that the ANC or
SACP would not be unbanned before the election, it unbanned them in
February 1990. It then became clear to him that negotiations would involve the
NP and ANC to the exclusion of opposition parties.
147. After the 1992 re f e rendum, the NP government reneged on its undertaking to
consult the electorate before any constitutional amendments were effected. It
then became clear to the CP that democratic channels were blocked. Wa l u s
f e a red that Mr Hani would take over the country as he was a popular leader in the
SACP and saw himself being subjected to the Communist regime from which he
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