McBride mounts urgent court bid to get job back after contract wasn’t renewed

FORMER Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride is mounting a fight to get his job back having filed an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.

The Helen Suzman Foundation also confirmed yesterday that it will proceed with its appeal in the Constitutional Court to challenge the process of appointing the head of Ipid.

McBride’s urgent court application yesterday came after the portfolio committee on police decided not to extend his contract and backed the decision of Police Minister Bheki Cele.

Cele was expected to appoint an acting head of Ipid until a new permanent appointment is made.

In his application McBride warned that without the head of Ipid it will allow Cele to appoint his own person for a period of up to a year until the position is filled.

He said he expected the decision of the committee after ANC MPs launched vicious attacks on him during discussions on the matter. ANC committee members had made a string of accusations against him and said he was an ill-disciplined ANC member.

“First, the portfolio committee was biased in taking a decision not to renew my appointment as executive director. This is made clear by the statements I have quoted,” McBride said.

The Helen Suzman Foundation said despite the decision of the committee it will proceed with its appeal in the Constitutional Court.

Helen Suzman Foundation legal counsel Anton van Dalsen said they will appeal against the High Court decision that the nomination for the Ipid head is made by the Minister and proceed to Parliament for approval.

This was an untenable situation, he said, as they wanted the position of Ipid chief to be independent and free from interference by politicians.

“The renewal needs to be independent and cannot be left to political actors,” said Van Dalsen.

He emphasised that their appeal to the Constitutional Court was about fixing this problem, and to ensure there was no hand of politicians involved.

At the moment the Minister of Police nominates a candidate and the committee has to either endorse that candidate or reject him or her.

McBride had argued in an earlier application in the High Court in Pretoria that he wanted to remain in his job to fight graft in the police. He listed several senior police officials allegedly involved in corruption amounting to hundreds of millions of rand.

McBride was to present that information to the committee, but this was not done due to the court battles between him and Cele.

The committee said yesterday after taking a decision not to renew McBride’s contract that Cele has to nominate someone to lead Ipid.

Committee chairperson Francois Beukman said whether Cele was making an interim appointment at Ipid or wanted a permanent person it has to go through Parliament.

Beukman said the Ipid Act was clear that if there was a vacancy in the position it must be filled.

McBride’s contract expired yesterdays. Cele’s spokesperson Reneilwe Serero did not respond at the time of going to print.