If good men keep silent, evil prevails, Schabir Shaik said, quoting the US civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr, to journalists.

"(But) I will not remain silent. I will take up David's sword," Shaik told the media yesterday.

He walked into the Durban Regional Court - cool, calm and dressed in a designer suit - to pay his bail of R1 000.

Members of the media had spent hours camping out in the sun waiting for Shaik's arrival. Flanked by two bodyguards and his lawyer Reeves Parsee, Shaik smiled and joked, even posing for photographers, saying: "Did you get your picture?" before walking into the court building.

He told the media he was confused about the name given to the elite Scorpions unit and suggested that they "change it to pigeons instead".   

"It (the name) reminds me of the old apartheid organ, the security police and intelligence. It used to make people's blood curdle. In the new South Africa, it's the 'Scorpions', and you're supposed to shiver and shake (again)."

Quoting from King, Shaik said: "For evil to prevail, good men must remain silent. I will not remain silent but I will take up David's sword.

"Evil is present in society and government. During the trial I will keep my ear to the ground to see if good men stand up." He added that he had faith in the law and the justice system.

"There are enemy agents within our government, and if nobody has the sense of righteousness to take them on, I will," said Shaik.

With acknowledgements to Monica Laganparsad and The Star.