McBride future decided before meeting, claims DA
The Democratic Alliance (DA) believes the outcome of Thursday’s police committee meeting on the future of Robert McBride was predetermined.
The committee endorsed a decision by Police Minister Bheki Cele not to renew McBride’s contract as the head of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
The DA was in favour of extending McBride’s contract, while the ANC agreed with Cele not to grant him another five-year term.
McBride has since launched an urgent court interdict against the recommendation.
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The DA’s Dianne Kohler-Barnard staged a walk-out - claiming that the ANC wanted to use its majority in the committee to push though the decision.
"It had been clear from Monday morning when the ANC said: ‘why go to the expense of buying juice at taxpayers expense? Let's just vote now’. They wanted to use their one person majority to just chuck him out and they didn't want to go through the processes but it became more and more adversarial."
Kohler-Barnard believes the reasons given to not renew the contract are unfounded.
"To say the relationship is broken down. Nowhere does it say the minister and the head of the IPID had to have any kind of relationship at all, they have a totally different mandate. It's for the IPID head to simply inform the minister when he's making arrests."
She adds that McBride was cleared of allegations theft made by a former employee.
"They said they were totally unfounded. The disgruntled employee shook them off and then took them to the public protector, so the ANC started saying there's a big investigation by the public protector, no there is not she's merely received papers that have already been investigated."
Kohler-Barnard said no amount of deliberations would sway the ANC’s decision.
"But I must tell you there are a raft of lawyers going to court as we speak, not only his (McBride’s) lawyers but also Helen Suzman Foundationm who believe the incumbent should be allowed to make up their own mind whether they want the extra five-year term so that the pressure can be brought there."
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