Shaik in "final phase of terminal condition" - Ngconde Balfour

JOHANNESBURG (Sapa) - Paroled fraudster Schabir Shaik is in "the final phase of his terminal condition," said Minister of Correctional Services Ngconde Balfour on Tuesday.

Evidence concerning Shaik's health had been given to a parole board by three medical practioners.

"The three medical practitioners' collective submission shows a unanimous conclusion that Mr Shaik is in "the final phase of his terminal condition," said Balfour in a statement.

He added: "One even went as far as saying that his condition has reached an irreversible condition."

The Correctional Services Act of 1998 states that "any person serving any sentence in a prison and who, based on the written evidence of the medical practitioner treating that person, is diagnosed as being in the final phase of any terminal disease or condition" may be put on parole so that they may "die a consolatory and dignified death".

On Tuesday, Shaik's brother Yunis Shaik refused to say whether his brother was terminally ill and described him only as "gravely ill".

"Having studied the contents of the report as submitted to me by the said Parole Board today, I am of the view that the decision they made is correct," said Balfour.

Attorney Clifford Gordon, who represents prisoners on parole and related matters, said that determining Shaik's condition was a matter "more for a doctor to answer than a lawyer".

However, he did say that the Department of Correctional Services in the past had opposed the medical parole of prisoners who were HIV positive.

Their argument was that a prisoner who was HIV positive and in danger of dying could, after they were released on medical parole, receive treatment in the form of Anti-Retrovirals drugs.They would then no longer be in danger of dying.

Balfour also lashed out at opposition political parties. The Democratic Alliance, Independent Democrats, and United Democratic Movement had all questioned the reasoning for Shaik's parole.

"What about the thousands of other prisoners that were never fairly assessed by the parole boards, even though some of them were in the final stages of terminal illness? Shaik has been given preferential treatment throughout his sentence and his early release is the final proof of that," said ID leader Patricia de Lille in a statement.

The Azanian People's Organisation, Freedom Front Plus, and Inkatha Freedom Party had also questioned Shaik's parole.

Balfour said: "Parole boards are comprised of members of the community who are appointed from within communities served by the Correctional Centre."

He added that they made difficult decisions."I also believe they make huge sacrifices to serve in these bodies.I therefore view as malicious, irresponsible and vindictive the expressions made by various political parties on this matter," said Balfour.

Balfour said that Shaik's medical parole was one of 25 that had been granted since April of 2008.He said the crimes that were committed by prisoners were not considered by the boards, only their medical details.

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Its defining events such as these that make people consider residing in other countries by TruthTrader on March 04 2009, 01:29 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Practice can make perfect Ngconde Balfour certainly came across as adament as he jumbled through his pre-prepared script but he certainly wasn't convincing. Perhaps he should join a local theatre arts group as an amateur actor to get more experience in the art. by Cleo Patra on March 04 2009, 03:28 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

There is no hope! by OMG on March 04 2009, 03:53 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Some of the people, some of the time The most annoying thing about this is that the people concerned treat South Africans like ignorant fools who are easily taken in by their spin. Another brick in the wall that the ANC is building between themselves and the electorate by Hippocrates on March 04 2009, 06:08 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Schabir Shaik What's the bet that the Shaiks have demanded their fraudulent brother's release in exchange for a large number of votes? I would reckon that if you're terminally ill, your condition is irreversible anyway that's why you're said to be terminally ill. . .more Only one doctor said his condition has reached irreversible condition. Of course, we will soon see whether this is really true, because he will either die soon if it is true, or we will see a "miracle healing". What a joke this country has become, a real banana republic. And if voters don't use their brains and common sense it's going to get worse. God have mercy on all of us. . .less by aionosi on March 04 2009, 07:00 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

we are about to see a miracle Stick around - an amazing reversal is about to take place. Give this man a bit of time and we will see him sauntering around smoking cigars and enjoying the good life. by onlooker on March 04 2009, 07:41 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shaik Watch for the miracle recovery. The problem with politicians and the ANC in particular is that they think the electorate are just as stupid as the politicians. In the case of the ANC they are way off the chart compared to politicians internationally . .more and it is an embarrasment to see the ANC "comrades" mixing with them. . .less by Peter on March 04 2009, 07:43 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

EVIDENCE FROM WHO?? evidence from slamo doctors or independent non -slamo doctors????? If he is geniinely terminally ill then its reasonable that he should be allowed to go home to be with his family in his last days. by spcs on March 04 2009, 07:55 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shifty Shaik In 6 months time either : 1. We will all feel really bad because SS is dead; or 2. He will still be alive, in which case this would give the lie to the fact that he is in his death throes. I suspect it will be option 2, in which case one . .more of the opposition parties should bring an application to court to throw him back in jail. . .less by True Blue on March 04 2009, 07:59 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Time will tell Clearly this looks like a JZ and his cronies concocted parole, probably to stop Shaik testifying against Zuma. Time will tell as most terminally ill people don't live very long, unless of course the world finds a miracle cure. by George on March 04 2009, 08:01 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

We all have a "terminal condition" its called "life" and anyone over the age of 50 is in the final stages. Shabby is no different - its downhill all the way over the next 15 years for him. The doctors are 100% convinced that he will die one day. by Achar Van Tonder on March 04 2009, 08:09 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

He suffers from severe and terminal fraud deprivation Unless he gets back into it soon he could become a normal person by Dave on March 04 2009, 08:36 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Interesting So 2 of the 3 medical experts reckon the condition could be reversed. Doesn't quite tie in with the "last stages of a terminal condition". My money is on a miraculous reversal happening. Nothing like the removal of a 15 year sentence to . .more lift ones mood out of terminal depression. Plus the government has just returned to him 5 million bucks which is very handy pocket money to have around. I wonder if 3 doctors will be having really nice holidays very soon. . .less by Sad Days on March 04 2009, 08:37 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Little credibility Balfour is never very convincing, regardless of the ministerial portfolio. No different here. by Reitz on March 04 2009, 08:44 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Welcome to South Africa Where we print the OUTRAGEOUS political dealings on the front page, then forget about everything 2 days later y-a-w-n by Munch on March 04 2009, 08:54 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Balfour is terminally ill of BOSASA Caterers bribes!! I'm so fat of prisons catering bribes i will burst anytime with more lies. Typical of African National Crooks!!! Apr 22 is coming people; no need to agonise over these thugs, lets all go and vote these thugs out of Gov. by Mute Fool on March 04 2009, 09:01 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

I like George's theory of being a ploy to prevent Shaik testifying against Zuma. Perhaps also to try and convince NPA that their case against Zuma is weak as one of the witnesses (unwilling and subpoenae'd) could die or he could stay out of giving evidence indefinitely . .more through presentation of medical certificates, unsubstantiated stories of his condition. If he was still in jail, it would be much more difficult to fabricate these stories. BUT when all is said and done, whether these theories have substance are not, what are we left with. A convicted fraudster who has stolen from this nation, a presidential candidate soon to appear in court on hundreds of charges, a political party which has stolen from this nation lumping us with billions of rands of unnecessary expense in order to get their grubby paws on a few mllions for party funding, ANC cadres deployed everywhere include correctional services and parole boards. On the balance of probabilities what is the likelihood of an honest, honourable, above board, decent, moral and ethical decision coming out of that mix? These people are tainted and always will be. Get rid of them all!!!! . .less by Al on March 04 2009, 09:12 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shabby Shaik Here is a scenario. Shabby 'dies' gets the usual quick Muslim burial - no autopsy. Shady Mo organises a new false identity for dear old Shabs, who goes off into 'off shore 'retirement' where he continues to run the 'business' and enjoy his Havanas. . .more Maybe I'm just a cynical fool. . .less by Roger on March 04 2009, 09:16 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shabby Shaik Continued OOps.. I forgot the State Funeral ala Kebble by Roger on March 04 2009, 09:17 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shaiky If Shaik does leave this dimension in the near future to go and get the dose of justice he so richly deserves in an after life, I assume all of you ranting will be only too glad to post apologies? by Frank de Sales on March 04 2009, 09:25 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

The ANC have shown their usual disrespect for the rule of law Welcome to Africa. They never fail to dissappoint in their relentless search for failure in my opinion. Look at the horrific CRIME in SA. Now here you get a guy with a 15 year sentence and he serves around 2 years most of which was in a hospital. Only in . .more Africa as they say. Rest assured Zuma will never go to court and his charges will be dropped. That movie last night on TV about Idi Amin ... makes you think about our future. . .less by Predictable on March 04 2009, 09:41 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shifty Shaik Can wait for this to be run on Ripleys believe it or not. Very strange though as he is going back to an empty house - yet the gardens looked in immaculate condition - I want the name of the garden service by gcr on March 04 2009, 09:54 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Franky but of course by Soro on March 04 2009, 09:55 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

hospice? if Mr Shaik is so terminally ill why is he placed at home and not the hospice? absolute bollucks by duh on March 04 2009, 10:02 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shaik - What Disease? As a matter of interest, what terminal disease does Shaik have? The last I heard he was being treated for high blood pressure and related problems but hundreds of normal people go through life with these problems and continue working often in high . .more pressure situations for years. . .less by Tim Terry on March 04 2009, 10:03 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

and by a miracle he will be healthy and win big goverment tenders and contracts in 2010. by gd on March 04 2009, 10:34 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@ Franky You gotta be kidding - if Shabby terminates we will be too busy celebrating the demise of a criminal to apologize. What must we apologize for anyway- he's a convicted crook and his release is a disgrace. No apologies -the man owes every honest South . .more African at least 13 years or 4750 hours of hot throbbing prison love. . .less by Warden on March 04 2009, 10:43 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Umshiniwam wam bam thank you mam Come on get used to living in Africa! So long as black people continue to have a chip (no a whole building) on their shoulder and there is the allure of a BEE deal they will continue to vote for the liberation movement. You guys can say you are voting for . .more the ANC and vote for any other party (some balance please). Surely voting is still secret or is it? . .less by Albie on March 04 2009, 10:43 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shabby Shaik Come on guys, the poor fella has to groom himself before taking over from Trevor after the elections. As finance minister he will continue to advise Zuma on his financial decisions :-) by dodi on March 04 2009, 11:17 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shabir Shaik I look forward to the "miracle in our midst"! Without a shadow of a doubt, we will witness a "healing" equivalent to Lazarus being raised from the dead after 4 days. Mr Shaik is about as terminally ill as I am. Depression and high blood pressure are not . .more normally fatal conditions - and Mr Shaik, you are actually SUPPOSED to feel depressed when you anticipate a 15 year jail sentence within the South African Penal System; sharing a cell with HIV positive cadres who have not been quite as fortunate as you may also be responsible for raising anyone's blood pressure ... . .less by Diane Bredenhann on March 04 2009, 11:29 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shabby He will prove that beeroot is a cure for all ills. He will do this in another land. Sunday Times will show him smoking cigars and enjoying life in about two years. We will be embroiled in a new scandal and have forgotten about Shabby. ANC are so arogant . .more they do not care if their lies are believable or not. Julios checks them! . .less by Gullible on March 04 2009, 11:52 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Good news and bad news Shabby, the good news is that you are being released. The bad news is that you have to die by next Thursday to meet your parole conditions. by jake on March 04 2009, 12:39 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Gravely ill or terminaly ill! If he all of a sudden finds a miracle cure, will he then have to return to prison to serve the rest of his sentence? Either way, the country can only hope and pray that no such cur is found! by Just Wondering on March 04 2009, 13:48 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

It's going to get worse Each time I try to pretend that our problems are not that bad after all, the worst happens. Each time I try to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I realise that it was in fact an approaching train steaming towards me. Whether we like it or not we are . .more going Uganda/Rwanda/DRC etc routes, period. And we are drifting in that direction very quickly of late. God Bless our beloved country the same way you liberated us from evil apartheid hands. . .less by Me on March 04 2009, 14:06 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

BuIIsh1tters!! A lot people commenting on this with little or no knowledge of how the medical parole system really works. De Lille claims that "thousands" of other terminally ill inmates have been "unfairly" denied parole. How does she know this? She's never served on a . .more parole board. Prior to this case, how much work has she put into helping those "thousands" of other prisoners get assistance? This has nothing to do with the ANC or Government. This is legislation that has existed in SA for decades. In fact, the requirements for medical parole were made even more draconian in 1998. The people who make these decisions are Doctors. Surely they know more than you or De Lille about determining the severity of a case. All I see from a weak and incompetent Opposition is another cheap & distasteful attempt at scoring some points. . .less by tedious on March 04 2009, 14:13 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Oh no!!!! In this ANC (my former favourite organisation) the Blinds are leading the Blinds. It's a situation of taxi passengers agreeing with a blind man that he can drive and that he knows where everybody is going. Ngconde, a former Mbeki loyalist . .more turned Zuma loyalist must be on the new list of JZ Ministers. He is trying to secure a leaving after all. Oh My God!!!! . .less by Mfetu on March 04 2009, 14:13 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Shaik's medical conditions are: 1 Kleptomania. 2 AIDS: Acquiring Illegal Defence Supplies procurement. 3 Enosiophobia or Enissophobia- (Fear of having committed an unpardonable sin or of criticism.) or - the doctors are not sure which: Eosophobia- Fear of dawn or . .more daylight. [No, it's not named after THOSE brothers] This IS terminal: Joe Modise succumbed having been infected by Shaik. Zuma, Mbeki, Lekota, Manuel and the rest of the ANC have them too. Zuma also has Liticaphobia- Fear of lawsuits Mbeki is in advanced stage of Leukophobia- Fear of the colour white. . .less by Inside information on March 04 2009, 14:26 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@ Warden If he's terminally ill, and I'm the first to admit this is a big 'IF', is it too much to ask that he dies with a bit of dignity? If he isn't, his punishment elsewhere is going to be that much worse - and his mates in government will join him. If he's . .more really on his death bad, your revelling in his suffering, and again I'm the first to admit this is a big 'IF', says about as much as you as it does about Shaik... . .less by Frank de Sales on March 04 2009, 14:52 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

In the public interest Straight off, Balfour shows his stunning comprehension skills by stating that this terminal illness is an "irreversible condition". He must have spilt some of his five-course meal on the dictionary when checking up what the definition of terminally ill . .more is. Secondly, who are these esteemed committee members that served on the parole board? This information, and the details of the medical reports and the doctors that signed off on them, are in the public interest and should be available for public viewing. The notion that this was done to appease Schaibir in case he is called to testify against Jacob Zuma strikes me as being quite plausible. This once again testifies to the manipulation and deceit that is so pervasive in the upper echelons of government. . .less by Craig Ross on March 04 2009, 15:42 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Fiction These goverment ministers and official don't understand the concept of TRUTH. How do people vote this crowd into power Now shaik has a corupt relationship with the correctional services and Balfour. The only illness here is a . .more CANCER OF CORRUPTION. . .less by Unbelievable on March 04 2009, 16:12 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

ITS TIME Its TIme for the new dispensation to go to a TRUTH and RECONCILIATION hearing. Maybe Shaik, Zuma, Winnie and ANC friends etc.- will now feel compelled to tell the truth for forgiveness. by hellopeter on March 04 2009, 16:22 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

why why by why on March 04 2009, 16:28 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

It's quite true. Shaik is terminally ill. He is sick to death of being in prison. So Balfour, the one whose waistline is increasing at such a rate that soon the forces of gravity are going to do a grave injury to his ankles, has agrred to let him out. Fair is fair huh? by Plutarch on March 04 2009, 16:33 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@all the cynics out there Guess u posted this much when Thatcher got away with a small fine for trying to cause a coup in another country. I'm convinced Shaik got a raw deal, had he been white (like Thatcher & the Health & Racquet guys) he would have been under house arrest or . .more even got a suspended sentence at worse. . .less by cal on March 04 2009, 16:50 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

2010 tourists and Investors beware This is a defining moment in the break down of law order in South Africa. Travel there at your own peril. Invest there only after reading about Uganda under Amin and Zimbabwe under Mugabe. This might give you a better understanding of what is possible in . .more Africa and everything is possible in my opinion with the ANC in charge of South Africa. . .less by Frightening on March 04 2009, 16:54 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

@ all the cynics out there Shaik got a raw deal. Had he been white he would have been granted a suspended setence at worse (like Thatcher; the Health & Racquet guys). Different rules apply in our courts when the accused is white. Furthermore, moneyweb won't get as many postings. by Cal on March 04 2009, 16:59 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

We are all equal before the law??? What planet are the ANC on or do they think everyone who looks at what transpires believes the nonsense that they spout. Everyone involved in this shady untransparent event simply looks like some low life petty criminal. Note "looks like" not "is". What is disappointing is that those who gave . .more their lives for the struggle are now being trampled upon by the unprincipled people that are now running the ANC - there is almost nothing honourable about what the ANC does these days anymore. . .less by ANC Corruption Inc on March 04 2009, 20:42 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Expert diagnosis According to a highly placed confidential source of mine, shaik has been diagnosed with a new but very worrying strain on aids, its called hearing aids, you get it listening to assholes. by Wanne be doctor on March 04 2009, 21:17 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

the grand finale experts say his final stage could last well into 2040. Poor guy, imagine having to live that long with his terminal illness, that will ultimately kill him when he dies, at the end of his life. I heard a rumour doctors recommended he be released . .more as a cure for his terminal depression, and amazingly it worked! Should we expect another few million depressed prisoners on the streets soon? . .less by zumanoid on March 04 2009, 23:47 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

Another reason not to vote ANC This is jus another reason not to vote ANC! This is nonsense! Is every prisoner having a terminal disease should be realeased! This is public interest and we want this information the ANC is a thousand times worse than the old NATIONAL PARTY, at least the . .more National PArty was honest about its' agenda, as a person of colour who has vaoted ANC, I will not vote for them again. I hope this is an eye opener as we are a Nation that now condones all crimes. His Parole must be reviewed! . .less by Phew on March 05 2009, 06:49 Find this comment inappropriate? Report it

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