Schabir Shaik had a mild stroke in prison last Saturday.

And another high-profile prisoner, Tony Yengeni went on a week-long hunger strike in Malmesbury Prison in protest against his privileges being removed following his alleged parole violations in mid-November.

Yesterday Sipho Manqele, area commissioner for the prisons department, confirmed that Yengeni had been on a hunger strike last weekend, but he said he had "no idea" what it had been about.

Shaik, 49, was transferred from Qalakabusha Prison in Empangeni to St Augustine's, a private hospital in Durban, after his stroke.

Initially, Shaik was treated for hypertension (high blood pressure) at Qalakabusha - to which he had been transferred from Westville Prison on November 9, when he started serving his 15-year sentence for corruption and fraud.

On the same weekend (November 9) Yengeni was allowed home for the first time.

In terms of a parole board decision, Yengeni was to be allowed home every weekend until his release, provided he did not violate any weekend parole conditions.

However, Yengeni appeared to have violated his parole on two counts. The former ANC chief whip was seen and photographed drinking beer at a party at his Milnerton, Cape Town, home.

And he allegedly arrived back at prison more than an hour after his 3pm check-in deadline.

A source in the prisons department said that the investigation into Yengeni's alleged parole violations had been completed last Monday and that the investigators had been unable to find conclusive proof that he had broken his parole conditions - for example, it had been too late to test whether Yengeni had swallowed alcohol while at home - and that therefore no action would be taken against him and Yengeni's privileges would be reinstated in due course.

Lumka Yengeni, said yesterday she did not really care what the report's findings were. She refused to comment on the hunger strike. Sources said Yengeni spent a week on hunger strike.

In 2003 Yengeni was sentenced to four years in jail after being convicted of fraud related to his acceptance of a discount on a luxury vehicle from one of the bidders in the multi-billion rand arms deal.

Shaik's brothers, Mo and Yunis, would not comment on Schabir's stroke except to confirm that it had happened and that it had been "mild".

"It is not known to what extent, if any, Schabir has been affected.

"I will only say this," said Mo, "that, given what happened to Schabir last Saturday, media suggestions that Schabir went to hospital as some sort of scam, because prison life was not agreeing with him or some such rubbish, are, to put it mildly, inappropriate".

Meanwhile, Reeves Parsee, Shaik's attorney confirmed that a Constitutional Court challenge will be filed on behalf of Shaik. His legal team hopes that they will manage to have notification of the challenge at the court by December 15.

With acknowledgement to Jeremy Gordin, Angela Quintal and Cape Argus.