JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's justice minister plans to appeal a court ruling that granted parole to the assassin of a prominent anti-apartheid leader.

The justice ministry said in a statement Wednesday that the minister, Michael Masutha, believes the judge who ordered parole for Polish immigrant Janusz Walus made a mistake.

Walus stirred fears of all-out racial conflict when he killed anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani in 1993, ahead of South Africa's first all-race elections in 1994.

On March 10, a Pretoria judge ordered parole for Walus by early April.

Walus' lawyer, Julian Knight, says he will ask that Walus be placed on parole even if a court decides to hear the justice minister's appeal. Knight says Walus can report back to prison if a court reverses the parole ruling.