In South Africa, the former financialadviser to ANC ruling party president Jacob Zuma has been released from prison.Shabir Shaik has served less than two and a half years of a 15-year sentencefor fraud and corruption.
VOAcorrespondent Scott Bobb, Johannesburg, says, "Accordingto corrections officials, he was released on medical parole, which is a releasegranted prisoner who are terminally ill. He has been in the hospital for mostof his sentence complaining of high blood pressure, chest pains and otherailments. So the decision was made that he is severely ill and should be senthome and he went home Tuesday morning on a stretcher."
Acontroversial arms deal was at the heart of Shaik's conviction. Bobb says,"Basically he was found guilty of trying to solicit a half a millionrand?bribe, which at today's rate of exchange is about $50,000, for then deputypresident Jacob Zuma, who is now the ANC's candidate for president in electionsnext month."
Shaik's conviction had a direct effecton Jacob Zuma's career. "First of all, his close association with Mr. Zuma ledto Mr. Zuma being sacked as deputy president. And he has been spending thesubsequent time defending himself in various courts on other fraud andcorruption charges. But these charges stemmed largely from the successfulconviction of Shabir Shaik," says Bobb.
Asked whether Shaik might testify atZuma's corruption trial, currently set for August, Bobb says, "I haven't seenmuch on that because he probably would be seen as discredited as a witness. Butwhat this has done is cause a storm of controversy because the oppositionparties and many critics believe that Shabir Shaik was not terminally ill.Normally, prisoners are released when they are about to die and this is ahumanitarian gesture to let them go home and be with their families in theirlast days. But the feeling is that Shabir, who has spent most of his prisonterm in the hospital, has basically been seeking to avoid the harsh realitiesof prison life. And, of course, time will tell whether or not he is terminallyill, but this has created a lot of criticism, which, of course, his defendersare countering."