Polish far-right groups campaign for funds and release of white supremacist murderer

Almost all UK-based Polish far-right groups have one thing in common: they actively campaign for financial support and release of Janusz Walus.

Janusz Walus is a white supremacist currently serving a life sentence in South Africa for the assassination of top anti-apartheid leader, Chris Hani, General Secretary of the South African Communist Party and Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), in 1993.

Hani was second only to Nelson Mandela in popularity among many black South Africans.

Working closely with another white supremacist, Clive Derby-Lewis, Walus followed Hani to his home in Johannesburg and shot him multiple times. Both Walus and Derby-Lewish were sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment (Derby-Lewis was released on medical parole in 2015 and has since died).

Race war

Walus was hoping to spark race war with his actions. His girlfriend admitted at the trial he feared black rule would bring Communism to South Africa. In 2017, Walus’ South African citizenship was revoked and he is fighting for deportation to Poland, where he has more chance for freedom.

His participation in the murder is not being discussed and support not questioned by groups’ members and followers. The fact that he is Polish, killed a member of a communist party and supported racial segregation fits perfectly into the far-right definition of a national hero.

They justify the crime he committed with his victim’s political views. The Facebook page ‘Freedom for Janusz Waluś’ has over 2,000 followers. Admins claim Janusz Walus keeps in phone contact with them.

Justifying his views

In 2015, National Rebirth of Poland (NOP) campaigned for the release of Janusz Walus in Coventry and at the South African Embassy in London.

In February 2016, the online store Patriots UK (Patrioci UK) posted an article Janusz Walus stays in prison with a sad-looking image of his face. The store is managed by Rafal Wilk, who in January 2017 declared co-operation with several UK-based Polish groups, alongside Independent Poland, Patriotic Association ‘Link’ (Ogniwo) and the Radical National Camp (ONR).

Protests

On 25 September 2016, the Polish Defense Committee (Komitet Obrony Polski) led by Kristof Jastrzembski organised a protest outside the South African embassy near Trafalgar Square in London, calling for the release of Janusz Walus. They believed he was a “political prisoner” and all he did was to “fight communism”.

They claimed that the protest was their “contribution to the fight against communism” and that Janusz Walus deserved medals, not prison.

In April 2017, Independent Poland advertised merchandise to raise funds for Janusz Walus. A t-shirt and lanyard with the words ‘Freedom for Walus’ are still available priced £10 each.

In November 2017, Ogniwo (or ‘the Link’) – which has been linked to paramilitary-style “reenactment” training – posted a photo featuring its leader Mariusz Zawadzki on Facebook, along with other members of the group and guest speaker, Polish author and journalist Rafal Ziemkiewicz, who recently gained British media attention.

The picture was taken during the ‘Bookfair in Slough’ organised by Piotr Szlachtowicz (who recently tried to organise far-right Polish hip-hop artists to perform in the UK) and Independent Poland.

Members of Independent Poland posted a similar photo with Ziemkiewicz in support of Janusz Walus on the same day.

In April 2017, Independent Poland published a letter from Ewa Walus, the daughter of Janusz Walus, where she expressed her gratitude for financial support from Polish football fans and Poles in the UK, who collected money. She confirms he has received funds.