/ 29 August 2005

Shaik’s appeal process on track

The appeal process Schabir Shaik was on track, his attorney Reeves Parsee said on Monday.

”We had to file our petition for leave to appeal by tomorrow [Tuesday] and we did it in Durban on Friday and in Bloemfontein today,” Parsee said.

Shaik was sentenced in July to 15 years in prison on each of two corruption counts, and another three years for fraud.

The sentences were to run concurrently, but Shaik is currently out on bail of R100 000.

Durban High Court judge Hilary Squires gave Shaik leave to appeal against one of the two corruption convictions and the fraud conviction.

On the fraud charge, he was granted leave to challenge a finding that he had discussed the irregular write-off of loans with his auditors, some of which had been to Zuma.

On one corruption charge, he has been allowed to challenge the court’s decision to accept an encrypted fax as evidence.

But Squires denied him permission to appeal against his conviction on the first corruption charge which relates to ”a generally corrupt relationship” with former deputy president Jacob Zuma and a series of payments, exceeding R1,2-million, made to Zuma.

Last week Shaik, his wife and two employees had to flee his Durban beachfront penthouse in the early hours of the morning after a fire broke out causing damages estimated at R2-million.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Phindile Radebe said a case of arson is being investigated.

The week before the fire Shaik’s homes and offices were raided by the Scorpions as part of a nationwide swoop on Zuma, his lawyers and his close associates.

Following Shaik’s conviction, Zuma was charged with two counts of corruption and was expected back in court in October. – Sapa