Nelson Mandela appeals for calm after the assassination of Communist Party chief, Chris Hani

Date: 14 Apr 1993
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Nelson Mandela appeals for calm after the assassination of Communist Party chief, Chris Hani

Following the assassination of the former Secretary-General of the South African Communist Party (SACP) and chief commander of uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), serious tensions emerged as South Africans expressed their anguish over this loss. The assassination occurred outside Hani’s house in Dawn Park, Boksburg on 10 April 1993. Hani couldn’t escape the scene as the murder was carefully orchestrated by Janusz Walus, an anti-Communist Polish immigrant who was later sentenced after confessing to the murder. Hani died instantaneously after he was shot. On 14 April, former President Nelson Mandela made a televised appeal for a peaceful day of mourning, urging South Africans to come together. However, the assassin, Janusz Walus was arrested within hours of the murder. Hani’s assassination rekindled unrest; with a violence that erupted and claimed more than 70 lives.

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?

How we know this

01Simanowitz,S., ‘Chris Hani's Assassination Put South Africa On The Brink of Civil War’, from the Vice News, [online], Available at: www.vice.com [Accessed: 27 March 2014]
02South African History Online, Thembisile ‘Chris’ Hani, [online], Available at: www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 27 March 2014]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2014, April 11). Nelson Mandela appeals for calm after the assassination of Communist Party chief, Chris Hani. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097364

South African History Online (2014) 'Nelson Mandela appeals for calm after the assassination of Communist Party chief, Chris Hani', South African History Online, 11 April. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097364 (Accessed: 25 July 2026).

South African History Online, Nelson Mandela appeals for calm after the assassination of Communist Party chief, Chris Hani [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097364, (accessed 25 July 2026).

"Nelson Mandela appeals for calm after the assassination of Communist Party chief, Chris Hani." South African History Online, 11 Apr. 2014, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097364. Accessed 25 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Nelson Mandela appeals for calm after the assassination of Communist Party chief, Chris Hani." South African History Online. April 11, 2014. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0097364.