A prisoner with a terminal illness has died at Durban’s Westville Prison hospital, raising further questions about the prisons’ parole system yesterday.

The Justice for Prisoners and Detainees Trust (JPDT) said the prisoner, who was serving a 15-year term, died of an Aids-related disease.

Chairman Derrick Mdluli said he died in prison last Thursday, just days after convicted fraudster Schabir Shaik was released on medical parole.

Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour said Shaik qualified for medical parole as his doctors concluded he was “in the final phase of his terminal condition”.

The prisoner who died had served four years of his sentence, most of it in the prison hospital.

“He never left the hospital or was taken to any other hospital,” said Mdluli.

The prisoner, whose family live in Clermont, will be buried today.

“Is Shaik better than the rest of us? There are so many questions left unanswered to those who are suffering from terminal illnesses at prison,” said Mdluli.

“Why is it that he gets to leave prison because of a terminal illness when those with worse off illnesses are left to die in prison,” he said.

The prisoner’s family was quoted in the Times as saying that he qualified for parole and was supposed to have been released in December.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and The Witness.