Schabir Shaik
Schabir Shaik was Jacob Zuma’s “close friend and financial advisor” whose June 2005 conviction for corruption and fraud — the only conviction of a principal figure in the Arms Deal — established the factual and legal foundation for all 18 charges Jacob Zuma currently faces. The relationship between Shaik and Zuma was described by Judge Hilary Squires as “a mutually beneficial symbiosis”: Shaik made 783 payments to Zuma totalling approximately R1.28m between 1995 and 2002, and brokered an arrangement in which Thales agreed to pay Zuma R500,000 per year as a corrupt retainer for political protection from Arms Deal investigations.
Business and Arms Deal involvement: Shaik’s company Nkobi Holdings served as the BEE partner for French defence company Thomson-CSF (later Thales) in its bid for the combat suite contract in the R29.992bn Strategic Defence Procurement Package. His brother Chippy Shaik was simultaneously serving as the Department of Defence’s Chief of Acquisitions — the official responsible for signing off on procurement decisions. The 2001 Joint Investigation found this created a conflict of interest; neither brother was prosecuted on this specific ground.
Conviction and aftermath: Shaik was convicted in June 2005 and sentenced to 15 years. Immediately after the conviction, President Thabo Mbeki fired Zuma as Deputy President and the NPA indicted Zuma. Shaik was released on “medical parole” in March 2009 — having served approximately two years — on grounds of terminal illness. Within days he was photographed playing golf in Durban, triggering nationwide outrage about selective application of the medical parole system. As of April 2026, Shaik has never been recalled to prison and the Department of Correctional Services has never publicly explained how parole conditions were maintained.
Connections
- Jacob Zuma — 783 payments, ~R1.28m; brokered Thales retainer R500k/year; Shaik conviction established factual basis for Zuma’s 18 current charges
- South African Arms Deal — Nkobi Holdings was Thales’s BEE partner; Shaik at the centre of the bribery mechanism
- National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) — Shaik’s conviction triggered Zuma indictment; NPA subsequently compromised by Zuma-era appointments
- Arthur Fraser — Spy Tapes (manufactured under Fraser’s direction) were used to drop Zuma charges after Shaik conviction