What’s up, Doc? — Demoted to Mr Chippy Shaik

While the Shaik brothers have been “shaking” South Africa, the University of KwaZulu-Natal will not be shaken in upholding best international practice and integrity in the awarding of its most cherished degree — Professor Malegapuru Makgoba

Last year: We broke the story of how ‘Dr’ Shaik faked his degree.

This week: After a massive probe, university finds him guilty Shaik copied the work of five international professors published in a book more than 20 years ago

Chippy Shaik has been officially unmasked as a fake and unceremoniously stripped of his doctorate.

This follows an exhaustive international forensic investigation by the University of KwaZulu-Natal into his doctoral thesis. The verdict this week was that it had been “plagiarised massively”.

The institution’s investigation, the biggest of its kind ever undertaken, was sparked nine months ago after the Sunday Times exposed Shaik for stealing the work of others to get his 2003 PhD in mechanical engineering.

German authorities are investigating allegations that Shaik — the former acquisitions chief in the country’s controversial multibillion-rand arms deal — was paid a R21-million bribe by German arms manufacturer ThyssenKrupp.

Shaik, brother of convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik, copied the work of five international professors published in a book more than 20 years ago.

To get his 217-page thesis, Shaik simply had the work, published by professors VG Piskunov and Viktor Verijenko and three others, translated from Russian into English.

Verijenko, the Ukrainian-born former head of KwaZulu-Natal University’s School of Mechanical Engineering, was Shaik’s supervisor on the thesis and Piskunov an external examiner. The thesis detailed the “formulation of an advanced theory to calculate the bending of composite structures due to mechanical stress and heat”.

Within days of the Sunday Times exposé in May last year, Verijenko, who was on sabbatical in Australia, resigned.

The relationship between Shaik and Verijenko goes back a long way. Shaik was best man at Verijenko’s wedding in Durban five years ago and the relationship between the men has been described as mutually beneficial.

Some of the biggest research projects that Verijenko headed at the university involved the arms industry, including the former Kentron, a division of Denel, as well as Armscor and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

Now Shaik will have to hand back his degree certificate and will no longer be allowed to use his doctorate and title. Copies of the thesis will be removed from the university’s library.

Yesterday Shaik’s brother and attorney, Yunis Shaik, said they would challenge the university’s decision in the High Court.

He said his brother, who was working on a mine in Mozambique, had returned to South Africa to deal with the matter.

At the time of the Sunday Times exposé under the headline “Dr Chippy Fake”, Yunis described the claim of plagiarism as “wild” and “fanciful”.

“In the field the concept of unaided work is blurred by the fact that all knowledge is acquired, progressively, over time, and each scientist stands on the shoulders of those who went before,” he said.

He also said that what mattered was the judgment of his brother’s supervisors and examiners as to whether he should be awarded the doctorate.

But on Wednesday night an overwhelming majority of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s senate voted to revoke the doctorate.

This was after the Agriculture, Engineering and Science Academic Affairs Board presented the conclusions of the engineering faculty’s higher degrees committee, which led the investigation.

They found Shaik had committed plagiarism in chapters 2 and 4 of his thesis and that the material from the 1987 book by Piskunov and others was “incontrovertible evidence” that Shaik copied from earlier work and presented it as his own.

The university spent months searching libraries throughout the world for the book, of which only two copies existed. It eventually found one at the Moscow City Library.

The other had disappeared from the shelves of a library in Ukraine.

The committee also found:

• That there was no doubt that Shaik’s thesis had been “plagiarised massively” and that, on the balance of probabilities, it was not Shaik’s own unaided work; and
• That an independent assessor, an expert in the field, who examined the thesis had come to the same conclusions.

The university’s vice-chancellor and principal, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, said: “While the Shaik brothers have been ‘shaking’ South Africa, the University of KwaZulu-Natal will not be shaken in upholding best international practice and integrity in the awarding of its most cherished degree (the PhD).

“The higher degrees committee conducted an excellent and exhaustive forensic investigation and analysis to protect the integrity of our degrees. They should be commended.”

Makgoba said the university had “painstakingly” followed due process.

He said that during the investigation, Shaik had requested more time to answer written questions from the committee. Despite being granted the extension, the replies eventually received were found to be inadequate.

With acknowledgements to Jocelyn Maker, Megan Power and The Times.