The Chris Hani family has added its voice to the calls to have a full inquest into the April 1993 assassination of the late ANC bigwig and South African Communist Party (SACP) General Secretary in Boksburg.

The family’s support for the call comes after last week the country commemorated the 32nd anniversary of the death of the anti-apartheid stalwart in Hani’s ancestral village of Sabalele in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape.

In a statement by the family, spokesperson Mphatheli Hani said that this is their preoccupation right now since they want to know the truth.

“Our preoccupation and chief priority now and going forward is the approval of the application for the inquest on the assassination of Hani. We are dismayed that these entitled individuals claiming to be family seem to trivialise such an extremely important matter for the Hani family and the nation. This is a very deliberate act of shameful betrayal, and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

“Above all these aberrations, the Hani family profoundly welcomes all commitments made by the government in a recent annual event in Cofimvaba, Sabalele. Amongst those are: 1. The commitment to expedite all processes of approval of the application for inquest,” Mphatheli Hani said in a family statement.

Hani was killed by Janusz Waluś, a self-confessed racist and extremist who came to South Africa from Poland while fleeing communism. He was recently deported back to his country of origin after serving almost 30 years in prison for the murder he committed with the late Clive Derby Lewis, who provided him the gun that was used in the cold blood assasination.

The family also defended Limpho Hani, the widow of Hani from those accusing her of using Chris’s name for self-enrichment.

“We shall continue to defend this family, in particular Aunt Limpho (Mamophakathi) and her children, against any personal attacks and allegations that are not tested nor verified anywhere.

The family distances itself from all the false and unjustifiable claims made against Aunt Limpho.

“They border on nothing else but the sheer pursuit of self-entitlement and greed. Their actions are reminiscent of a seemingly stubborn tendency by some to abuse the name of Chris Hani for self-enrichment and political expediency. All these actions are tantamount to reputational damage and must be shamed,” the family added in the statement that was released via the SACP.

This was in response to a comment that was made by Siko Hani, who claimed that he is the rightful head of the Hani family.