Tomorrow is D-Day for Schabir Shaik when the one-time financial advisor to former deputy president Jacob Zuma must report to the Durban Central Police Station to begin his prison term after he was sentenced to 15 years for corruption and fraud.

This comes after his appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal against his sentence was rejected.

Experts say for Shaik, the only way out of serving his prison sentence would be a Constitutional Court ruling or a presidential pardon.

Shaik’s family declared a “media shut-down” and were yesterday refusing to divulge whether lawyers would seek redress in the Constitutional Court.

Shaik’s brother, Mo, said: “We have now gone into media shut-down”.

Asked yesterday morning if the family would take Schabir’s case to the Constitutional Court, Mo said: “It should become clearer at the end of the day”.

However, when contacted last night he said: “We are not done with consultation.”

He refused to speak further.

Meanwhile, Sapa has learnt that Shaik was served with the surrender order yesterday, which means he will have to hand himself over by tomorrow.

A statement issued by Correctional Services spokesman Luphumzo Kebeni confirmed that Shaik is not yet in their custody and that his status in prison will be determined by a “a computerised point-scoring system”.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Makhosini Nkosi said he could not confirm when Shaik will have to report to prison to start serving his sentence.

“It’s out of our hands. It’s a matter between the Correctional Services and Justice departments.”

Asked when the National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli would meet with the prosecuting team to discuss instituting charges against Jacob Zuma and the French arms manufacturing company, he said: “It’s an internal matter … they will meet.”

With acknowledgements to Dries Liebenberg and The Witness.