Publication: Business Day
Issued:
Date: 2007-10-04
Reporter: The Insider
If there was ever any doubt about the political
sensitivity of Schabir Shaik’s conviction, it has been dispelled by a
little-noticed aspect of this week’s Constitutional Court ruling on his
application for leave to appeal.
Constitutional law academic Pierre de Vos noted on his blog that the court
avoided the usual practice of a single judge
taking responsibility for the judgment. According
to De Vos, this has happened before only in a handful of “highly charged
political cases”, such as those concerning floor-crossing and the provision of
antiretrovirals.
“It reminds us of how poisonous the atmosphere has become in the run-up to the
African National Congress’ conference,” De Vos wrote. “Everyone is under
suspicion, every judge a possible enemy. These are dark
days for our democracy indeed. *1”
With acknowledgements to Business Day.
*1 Dark days indeed.