Convicted killer Clive Derby-Lewis has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, his wife Gaye said on Thursday.
"[It] is inoperable because of his age and frailty," she said in a statement.
"Clive [will] stay in hospital for another week. After that, he is scheduled for radiation and chemotherapy from May 6."
She said an application for medical parole would go ahead next week.
Derby-Lewis was convicted of killing South African Communist Party general secretary Chris Hani. Hani was shot dead in the driveway of his home on April 10 1993.
Derby-Lewis, who was sentenced to 25 years behind bars, has already served more than 20 years of his sentence.
The 78-year-old man has twice been denied medical parole. He has also been stabbed on two different occasions by inmates at the Kgosi Mampuru Central Correctional Centre in Pretoria. – Sapa