Shaik not yet home and dry

2005-11-18 09:47

Bloemfontein - Durban businessman Schabir Shaik is not yet home and dry with his application for leave to appeal against a corruption charge he was convicted on earlier this year.

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) this week agreed to hear oral argument on the application, Northwest University legal expert Tom Coetzee said on Thursday.

"The SCA can still refuse the leave to appeal. Then the case (in terms of the corruption count concerned) is finished."

Durban High Court Judge Hilary Squires convicted Shaik earlier in the year on two corruption charges and one of fraud, and sentenced him to an effective 15 years in prison.

Squires refused Shaik permission to appeal against his conviction on the first corruption charge.

This charge involves a "generally corrupt relationship" with former deputy president Jacob Zuma, and payments exceeding R1.2m made to the politician.

Shaik subsequently applied to the SCA for leave to appeal against his conviction on the first corruption charge.

On Monday, the court agreed he could present oral argument on the matter.

Coetzee said the appeal judges' decision this week means leave to appeal on count one had to be argued first, and if the argument succeeded the legal teams should be prepared to argue the merit of the appeal itself.

Shaik's attorney Reeves Parsee agreed, saying the SCA order had granted the businessman's team permission to present oral argument on count one on the issue of leave to appeal.

Parsee said under the court order, Shaik's team had to be prepared to argue both issues.

There was nothing unusual about this order.

"Sometimes in complex cases they do that," said Parsee.

- SAPA