"The monument was vandalised on Saturday night. One of the pillars is badly damaged, one side just fell off. And the electric lighting system was stolen," City of Ekurhuleni spokesman Zweli Dlamini told AFP.
Hani's killer of South African anti-apartheid hero Hani has been stabbed in prison, days after a court ordered him to be released on parole after serving nearly three decades for the murder, the prisons services said Tuesday.
In a statement, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) said it was "able to confirm an unfortunate stabbing incident" involving Janusz Walus, who was jailed for the 1993 killing.
Last week, South Africa's top court controversially ordered the release on parole of Janusz Walus, the Polish immigrant who shot Hani dead.
Hani, a hugely popular figure and fierce opponent of the apartheid regime, was shot dead in the driveway of his house in 1993, only a year before South Africa's first multi-racial elections.
The shooting occurred just as negotiations to end apartheid were entering their final phase, stoking tensions that some feared would erupt into civil war.
Walus, 69, has served nearly three decades of a life sentence for the murder.
The decision, which Hani's widow described as "diabolical", has led to protests by the ruling ANC, and the South African Communist Party (SACP).
In a joint statement with trade unions, the two parties condemned the vandalization of Hani's memorial as a "provocative attack."
The city of Ekurhuleni, where the tomb and memorial site of the late Communist Party leader are located, said the authorities had opened an investigation.
"The monument was vandalised on Saturday night. One of the pillars is badly damaged, one side just fell off. And the electric lighting system was stolen," Ekurhuleni spokesman Zweli Dlamini told AFP.
The monument comprises four marble columns symbolizing the pillars of the struggle against white rule led by the African National Congress (ANC), the party of Nelson Mandela.
On Monday, the home affairs announced Walus would have to serve his parole in South Africa, saying he should not be allowed to return home to Poland given the "heinous crime committed."