Deputy President Jacob Zuma may have had African National Congress MPs eating out of his hands in parliament on Wednesday, but he may yet face the wrath of its ethics committee.

Parliament's spokesperson Luphumzo Kebeni confirmed on Wednesday night that the multi-party ethics committee was looking at the judgment in the Schabir Shaik matter.

Judge Hilary Squires on Wednesday sentenced Shaik to an effective 15-year term in jail on two charges of corruption and one of fraud.

'Will you resign as deputy president?' He ruled that Shaik and Zuma had a "generally corrupt relationship" and found that a purported interest-bearing loan agreement between the two men was nothing of the sort.

The so-called agreement was relied on by the ethics committee in 2003 to clear Zuma from a complaint that he had failed to declare his financial interests, gifts and other benefits in the register of members' interests as required by parliament's code of conduct.

Among some of the payments to Zuma under scrutiny had been loans totalling more than R1-million from Shaik. However, a document purporting to be an interest-bearing loan was accepted by the ethics committee. Had it not been interest-bearing he would have been obliged to disclose it.

Despite questions about its authenticity from opposition MPs on the committee, ethics committee chairman Luwellyn Landers (ANC) told reporters at the time there was "no evidence that contradicts the authenticity of the loan agreements" as the documents provided by Zuma were "valid and correct".

Kebeni said in the light of the judgment, National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete had initiated the new process.

'She should be ashamed of herself' The committee would study the judgment and decide whether to re-open its inquiry based on the new facts before it.

While Mbete is not protecting Zuma in this aspect, she did rule in his favour in parliament on Wednesday when DA chief whip Douglas Gibson asked the deputy president whether he would resign.

Prefacing his question, Gibson told Zuma: "It seems clear that the high ideals of the freedom charter and the constitution of South Africa and our code of ethics have been dishonured and subverted by your involvement in corruption."

Mbete said: "I have received your application for a substantive motion (of no confidence in Zuma) which I am busy attending to. I am not allowing you to use this opportunity to sneak these issues through the back door." Gibson ignored the ruling and asked: "Will you resign as deputy president?"

Zuma smiled as an exchange between the DA and Mbete saw the speaker telling Gibson to either sit down or get out.

Gibson accused Mbete of converting parliament and "its processes into a grotesque ritual of irrelevance".

"She should be ashamed of herself," he said.

The deputy president attacked opposition parties and the media for ignoring the constitution and wanting to try "individuals" who had not been charged or had their day in court.

With acknowledgements to Angela Quintal and the Daily News.