In a scoop for Port Elizabeth, on Monday 24 June Professor Cyril Karabus spoke at the Abraham Levy Centre. Karabus, a leading South African paediatric oncologist was arrested in the UAE and held for nine months on what has been described as spurious forgery and manslaughter charges, returned to South Africa on 17 May 2013, after being released by the UAE authorities.
The charges followed the death of a girl, Sara Al Ajaily, from cancer who was his patient whilst working as a locum at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in 2002.
He was arrested at the airport in Dubai during September 2012 while on his way home from attending the wedding of his son, Mathew, in Canada.
Karabus has been invited to talk all over South Africa and his talk on Monday was the very first one that he has attended in any city other than Cape Town.
The road to getting Karabus back home after his arrest is an interesting one as told to us by his lawyer, Michael Bagraim, and wife Jennifer on the afternoon of Monday 25 June and one that we can learn many business lessons from:
1. Even big business can be untrustworthy
As Karabus was leaving Canada, booked on an Emirates flight via the UAE, he was informed by Emirates staff that there was a problem with his day visa – the Karabus’ were scheduled to stay over for one night in the UAE on their way home to South Africa (Certainly not, the actions of a person aware of committing a crime in the UAE!) . Upon asking the Emirates staff to please re-check his visa with management he was then informed that everything was alright and that he could safely fly on to Dubai.
As Karabus says this proves that the Emirates Airline – “..the most profitable airline in the world, with 5 direct flights to Cape Town each week.” – was colluding with the Dubai authorities and acting as an ‘agent of security’. “They were complicit in having me arrested, so they’re not a bloody airline, they’re a police force,” Karabus said.
When he arrived in Dubai and stepped over the international line into the UAE he was immediately arrested with the bombshell that he had been tried in absentia and found guilty of manslaughter.
2. Avoid knee-jerk reactions and plan
As Michael Bagraim – who along with being Karabus’ lawyer is also closely related to the family – pointed out, the family waited three months whilst weighing up their options before going public with news of Cyril’s arrest.
3. The Law is a business – expect help only if you have money
During the three months of keeping quiet the family spent time getting advice and appointing local lawyers who all quoted legal fees on a trial, appeal and subsequent appeal basis in amounts exceeding R1 million. As Bagraim pointed out this form of fee quotation would seem to point to an inherent problem within the legal system within the UAE.
The family subsequently came up with the money and started the legal process.
4. Success in business is dependent upon successful marketing
Bagraim soon realised that he would have to excite the media with a ‘sexy story’ but that most told him that a retired paediatric oncologist being held in a Dubai jail for manslaughter was not sexy at all.
His big break came when he was approached by Cape Argus reporter, Nontando Mposo, whom he wheeled and dealed with to get the story into her newspaper by promising an exclusive on another labour relations matter which Nonthando was more interested in. In return she would write one article about Karabus’ in Dubai.
As the story began unfolding and more and more attention was focused upon it, Nonthando found fame in daily coverage of the breaking story, as she says; “My colleagues soon took to calling me Mrs Karabus, strangers emailed their opinions and others asked for updates on the case. One thing was clear: Karabus had caught the world’s attention.”
Back in Cape Town, whilst the world’s media were reporting on the story, Bagraim embarked on an e-mail campaign which, he says, saw him working from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm as he e-mailed anyone he could think of that could help him bring world attention on to Karabus’ plight. He estimates that he sent over 5 000 personal e-mails.
Bagraim took to protesting in the streets outside the Emirates Airline offices in Cape Town.
Karabus’ supporters even attended an Ice Hockey match played by the UAE in Cape Town and ‘hijacked’ the game by revealing their t-shirts saying ‘Free Cyril Karabus now’ whilst waving placards and chanting. Result – coverage on major Arab TV stations and the threat of arrest.
5. Networking with influential people is vital
Influential businessmen like Dr Iqbal Survé, Chairman of the Sekunjalo Group were asked to intervene on behalf of Professor Karabus along with doctors who attended to the Arab Royal Family.
At public meetings Bagraim asked awkward questions of local South African Foreign Affairs officials.
Bagraim wrote to international sports stars who were going to attend sporting events in Dubai alerting them of Karabus’ plight.
Karabus remains convinced that the tipping point resulting in his release was through the intervention of “an influential South African businessman”.
6. You need to upgrade your skills constantly
Slowly Bagraim realised that the legal efforts to free Karabus had to be supported with public outcry and his role changed from legal counsel to that of Public Relations supremo fielding questions from the media, supporting the family and keeping the story alive. As Bagraim says; “It was news if Cyril had a haircut!”
7. Keep the faith
Bagraim constantly told everyone that Cyril would be home soon – after all he had faith in his product which was the innocence of a man who had dedicated his life to saving lives by working for 33 years in the Red Cross Children’s Hospital eschewing the big bucks of private practice.
Even on the back of people offering to broker deals or even ‘spring’ Karabus from Abu Dhabi or Dubai, Bagraim and the Karabus family kept the faith and belief in Cyril’s innocence.
8. Know your enemy
The UAE rely on international doctors staffing their hospitals and as a result of the wide spread international coverage of the story it became embarrassing for UAE medical institutions to be asked by prospective locum doctors just how safe it would be or how protected they would be if they came and worked in the UAE.
The World Medical Association also issued a cautionary notice with regards to doctors doing work in the UAE.
Apparently the expat community in the UAE extends to 85% of the population.
9. Be nice to the ‘little people’
Despite the poor support from the the South African Foreign Office Karabus is full of praise for the local consular staff especially Fanus Venter and the Pakistani driver from the SA Consul who drove Cyril back and forth to every court appearance and finally to his final flight home.
10. Ride the Wave of success
With this terrible trauma behind him, Professor Karabus opted to not go into the limelight and has only accepted the one invitation to speak in Port Elizabeth this past Monday (Well done Michelle Brown).
This, I feel is a bit of a mistake as riding the wave of interest in his story will certainly help him to recover the more than R2 million rand spent on getting him back home and righting the wrongs. Not only from the point of view of two potential lawsuit actions but also as an aid in keeping interest going in an upcoming book.
Karabus has confirmed his intention to sue the UAE and the Canadian hospital group to which the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City hospital in the UAE belonged as well as the Emirates Airline.
Alan Straton
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