Heat on McBride, Nhleko
THE fight between Police Minister Nathi Nhleko and Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) head Robert McBride has spilled over into Parliament, with MPs calling on the minister to explain the public spats.
The portfolio committee on police said Nhleko and McBride must end the bickering and focus their attention on fighting crime.
Nhleko will brief the media in Parliament today on Ipid matters and allegations that he secured a contract of R30 million for his girlfriend, Nomcebo Mthembu.
Mthembu’s organisation, Indoni, was given the multimillion-rand contract last year by the police to fight xenophobia by organising workshops and cultural events.
Last week, Nhleko asked Speaker Baleka Mbete to revive the inquiry into McBride over the illegal rendition of Zimbabweans. This followed an earlier process in which the ANC and Parliament aborted the inquiry into McBride.
McBride has also fought back against a number of people as he said there have been several attempts to get rid of him at Ipid.
Chairperson of the committee, Francois Beukman, said members wanted Nhleko to clear the air in the fight with McBride.
He said the minister has to appear before the committee so that MPs can make the necessary recommendations.
“We need stability in our law enforcement agencies at all times, and we cannot allow a situation where public confidence in these institutions is eroded by inter-agency conflicts,” he said.
The committee is yet to deal with another issue relating to the two men as last week’s letter to Mbete by Nhleko is yet to find its way to the committee.
In the letter, Nhleko called for the committee to revive the inquiry into McBride for the alleged doctoring of a report that cleared former Hawks boss Anwa Dramat in the illegal rendition of Zimbabweans.
The committee will have to look at the request by Nhleko to relaunch the inquiry into McBride after an earlier process was botched. This came after the deadline set by the Constitutional Court lapsed, leading to Nhleko to publicly attack Mbete and the ANC study group in Parliament.
The Constitutional Court had found that the minister did not have powers to suspend McBride and that this has to be done by Parliament.
Nhleko and McBride have been pulling in different directions for some time, and Beukman warned them yesterday that Parliament did not want to see divisions in agencies reporting to it.
He said divisions in the state agencies created a difficult climate for all parties to perform their duties optimally.