The Democratic Alliance will petition Justice Minister Michael Masutha to seek a review of convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik‘s medical parole.
A court should determine if Shaik should return to prison or have his parole conditions altered, so the public no longer had to be fed the lie that he was terminally ill, DA MP James Selfe said on Monday.
Shaik was released on medical parole on March 3 2009, after serving just more than two years of a 15 year sentence for corruption. He was President Jacob Zuma’s financial adviser. He was convicted of two counts of corruption and one of fraud, relating to his facilitation of a bribe, allegedly by French arms company Thint, to Zuma.
In an interview with News24 on Monday, Shaik called Julius Malema a “fool” after the Economic Freedom Fighters leader accused Indian businesses of exploitation and monopolising KwaZulu-Natal’s economy.
“This fool is misinformed and does not have any insight with regard to business ownership in KZN. Why does he not talk about Hulett and other big, white capital and business in the province?
“The issue of land distribution must begin with Hulett. Why is Malema silent on this?” asked Shaik, referring to agri-processing company Tongaat-Hulett.
Selfe said that in response to a DA parliamentary question, they had learnt that Shaik was still alive and well, so much so that his parole conditions allowed him to play sport.
“He has not died ‘a consolatory and dignified death’ eight years after his release, and frankly, he is so well that his parole conditions allow him, with permission, to travel to other provinces.
“It is clear that he was never ‘in the final phase of any terminal disease or condition’. The medical practitioner on whose diagnosis he was released was performing community service at the time,” said Selfe. – News24