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Police units in dispute over McBride’s R2m legal fees

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 Independent Police Investigative Directorate boss Robert McBride.  Picture: Lisa Hnatowicz / Nuus Noord
Independent Police Investigative Directorate boss Robert McBride. Picture: Lisa Hnatowicz / Nuus Noord

An internal dispute has arisen over the R2 million legal costs for Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride to successfully fight his suspension by Police Minister Nathi Nhleko.

And there is now a toing and froing over which department’s financial statements should reflect this R2 million.

Noting that there was a “dispute” over the R2-million debt for McBride’s legal fees, Parliament’s portfolio committee on police today gave Ipid and the Civilian Secretariat for Police an instruction to resolve the matter as soon as possible.

McBride resumed his position as Ipid head on Wednesday, after being suspended by Nhleko for nearly 18 months.

The suspension was set aside by the Constitutional Court last month.

Nhleko initially suspended McBride for allegedly altering an investigation report to protect former Hawks boss Anwa Dramat and his Gauteng counterpart, Shadrack Sibiya, who were charged in a case involving the alleged illegal rendition of several Zimbabweans. McBride denied the allegations.

This issue of McBride’s legal costs came up in Parliament today when the portfolio committee on police discussed its draft budget review and recommendations for the secretariat.

ANC member of Parliament Leonard Ramatlakane said in the committee that even though the secretariat lent the money to Ipid “out of the goodness of its heart” it still violated public financial management legislation, which stated that departments could not lend each other money.

Chairperson of the portfolio committee on police, Francois Beukman, told journalists after the committee meeting that the secretariat and Ipid were instructed to resolve the dispute over the legal costs as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, in a letter to McBride on Wednesday, Nhleko said the relationship between McBride and himself had “irretrievably broken down”.

According to a statement, Nhleko requested that McBride get clarity from Baleka Mbete, speaker of the National Assembly, on whom exactly he (McBride) should report to under the “prevailing circumstances”.

After the Constitutional Court’s ruling in McBride’s favour, Nhleko wrote to Parliament, asking it to open an inquiry into McBride. This would empower Nhleko to suspend him again.

In his statement, Nhleko criticised Parliament, accusing it of not following procedures and not dealing with the McBride matter within required time frames.

Nhleko was rebuked by the Speaker in a statement today.

Mbete said that she had “noted with grave concern” the statement by Nhleko.

“The statement in its totality raises serious concerns and casts aspersions on Parliamentary processes. This is unprecedented, unwarranted and unfortunate. Parliament operates on the basis of rules and set processes and these were followed in this regard.”

The Speaker said she would take up the matter with the leader of Government Business, Cyril Ramaphosa, as a matter of urgency.

Spokesperson for the Congress of the People, Dennis Bloem, accused Nhleko of being filled with hatred towards McBride and having a “personal vendetta” and “a very destructive agenda” against him.

“Nhleko is angry because McBride refused to be his puppet, but served the people of South Africa with integrity.”

Jacob Zuma had, according to Bloem, “all the reasons” to remove Nhleko as minister of police after the comment Nhleko made about the irretrievable breakdown in their relationship.

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