No ordinary Shaik

Sunday Times Editorial: The arrest and immediate release from police custody of Schabir Shaik after he had been accused of assaulting two people must have left many South Africans confused - even angry.

He was arrested after this newspaper revealed last Sunday that he had punched a man several times in an altercation outside a Durban mosque.

What then took place was a farcical attempt to investigate the incident by the Department of Correctional Services. Five officials of the department arrived at our Durban offices, demanding information and contact details related to the incident.

They were informed that everything the Sunday Times knew about the incident had been published in the newspaper and that we were more than happy to attest to its veracity under oath.

They left and, a day later, released Shaik without charging him or revoking his bail conditions.

It is clear that they did so after no further investigation. They did not contact the man punched by Shaik. They failed to locate or to talk to any witnesses to the incident, and they do not appear to have subjected Shaik to anything but the most cursory questioning.

This raises serious questions about the motives of the Department of Correctional Services. Dispassionate observers could be forgiven for drawing the conclusion that state officials had deliberately set out to do the bare minimum, because they were under severe pressure from the public to "do something" about Shaik.

In the end, they succeeded only in further harming their image and confirming to the public that, in the eyes of public servants, some are more equal than others.