McBride suspension a sign of Police Minister desperate for a scapegoat

12 March 2015

The Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, has allegedly just given the Executive Director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), Robert McBride, notice of suspension in a desperate attempt to use him as a scapegoat to legitimise his unlawful suspension of the Head of the Hawks, Anwa Dramat, just after he made moves to investigate the Nkandla scandal. 

This comes after Minister Nhleko alleged, earlier this month, that McBride doctored the IPID's report into the illegal renditions of Zimbabweans in 2010 to shield the Hawks boss from any involvement in wrongdoing. He has discharged this notice of suspension without so much as a shred of prima facie evidence to support this serious claim.

The Minister has now gone too far. His desperation to absolve himself from his clearly unlawful conduct by violating a Constitutional Court order is set to cost McBride his job for discharging his mandate without fear or favour.

As such I will make every attempt to directly engage the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Francois Beukman, on this matter and urge him to act on the letter I sent to him earlier this week. Minister Nhleko is flagrantly abusing his authority over the IPID and ridding himself of anyone who refuses to bend to his political will which is to protect President Jacob Zuma and anyone who seeks to do their job independently. 

Parliament can no longer bury its head in the sand as the Police Minister purges anyone who produces work that does not satiate his nefarious political agenda to protect President Zuma. Therefore Parliament must step in without any further delays and conduct a thorough investigation into the Minister's handling of this entire matter. 

Minister Nhleko is, quite simply, not for fit for office and Parliament must not tolerate such abuses of power, contempt for Parliament and the rule of law. Ultimately, Parliament must recommend that Minister Nhleko be fired.

Text of the letter:

09 March 2015

Chairperson of Portfolio Committee on Police

Mr Francois Beukman

PO Box 15

Cape Town

8000

Dear Mr Beukman

I am writing to you requesting that you immediately urge the Committee to investigate the Police Minister's conduct with regard his handling of the Hawks/Dramat matter which seems fraught with undue political influence.

Minister of Police, Nathi Nhleko, has allegedly instituted an investigation into the Executive Director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), Robert McBride for doctoring the IPID report into Dramat's involvement in the illegal renditions of Zimbabweans in 2010 to absolve Dramat of any wrongdoing.

This, the DA believes, is a thinly veiled attempt by the Police Minister to use McBride as a scapegoat in a last-ditch effort to legitimise his unlawful suspension of the Head of the Hawks, Anwa Dramat. Minister Nhleko, throughout this debacle, has acted outside the law with impunity.

It simply cannot be that a member of Cabinet is allowed free reign to carry out his political agenda without parliamentary oversight. Parliament is duty-bound to step in and protect our state institutions when a politically expedient Executive refuses to do so.

I am sure you can appreciate the Committee's silence in this regard make us implicit to the Minister's flagrant abuse of due process. We cannot allow the Minister to become a state unto himself without consequence.

Parliament is duty-bound to step when the Executive refuses to do so.

I implore your urgent diligence in this regard.

I trust that my request will receive due and urgent consideration.

Dianne Kohler Barnard, MP

Shadow Minister of Police

Democratic Alliance

ENDS

Statement issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, DA Shadow Minister of Police, March 12 2015

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