LETTER: Vengeance has no place in criminal code

In his seminal work, A History of the Modern World Paul Johnson writes on page 516: “He [Dag Hammarskjold, former UN secretary-general] formulated what became a characteristic UN double standard; whereas the killing of Africans by whites was of international concern and a threat to peace, the killing of Africans by Africans was a purely internal matter outside the purview of the UN. Thus, the UN became identified with a form of inverted racism which was to cost an incalculable number of African lives over the next two decades”.

Your editorial opinion about Janus Waluś failed to get to the point, despite trying to please everyone (“How to deal with the assassin Waluś’s parole”, November 23). Walus committed murder, and since we no longer have the death penalty the rules of his incarceration should be no different to others. To lock him up forever is to allow vengeance to become part of the criminal code, which chief justice Raymond Zondo clearly understands and for which he must be applauded.

Political assassinations are common in SA today, so your observations about whether there were unseen hands at work in Chris Hani’s death were well made and may explain why everyone is keen for Waluś to disappear, one way or the other, for good.

Bernard Benson

Parklands

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