Waghied Misbach

Waghied Misbach

The national commissioner of correctional services, Linda Mti, has resigned from his position.

Themba Maseko, a government spokesman, yesterday confirmed Mti's resignation and said he was now considering another position.

Mti will leave the correctional services department at the end of the month.

His resignation comes in the wake of his arrest for alleged drunk driving and smashing his car into another vehicle last week.

He allegedly asked police who arrived at the scene: "Do you know who I am?"

Mti was released on a warning and will appear in court in January.

He has also been in the news lately after the Jali Commission report showed that corruption was endemic in prisons.

He has also been criticised for diverting funds meant for building prisons for the repair of existing prisons.

And he is being investigated by the Public Service Commission for receiving a R30000 performance audit despite the correctional service's finances being in a mess.

Mti was recently re-elected vice president for Africa of the International Corrections and Prisons' Associations.

Meanwhile, Maseko said cabinet backed the supreme court of appeal's decision to uphold the 15-year jail sentence of Schabir Shaik, the friend and former financial advisor of sacked deputy president Jacob Zuma.

Maseko condemned attacks on the judiciary as "unjustified, racial and ill-informed" and said individuals and organisations that did so should apologise.

This was in reference to recent attacks by the ANC Youth League and the Young Communist League on the Durban high court Judge Hilary Squires' ruling that a "generally corrupt" relationship existed between Zuma and Shaik.