POLITICS

McBride to face fraud charge

Ipid head maintains that earlier report did not take all the facts into account (update: NPA drops charges)

McBride to face fraud charge

1 November 2016

Pretoria - Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride and two colleagues will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

McBride, Matthew Sesoko, and Innocent Khuba are being investigated by the Hawks's Crimes Against the State (Cats) unit.

Charges against the trio relate to their investigation of former Hawks head, Lieutenant General Anwa Dramat.

Dramat was accused of involvement in the illegal rendition of Zimbabwean nationals in 2010.

The findings contained in the last report on the matter, and which McBride signed, exonerated Dramat and differed greatly from an earlier report implicating him in the renditions.

According to a report by law firm Werksmans Attorneys, portions of statements by individuals who implicated Dramat in the illegal renditions and which appeared in the first report, were left out of the second report.

McBride has maintained that the earlier report did not take all the facts into account.

Update:

The NPA has issued the following statement:

NPA WITHDRAWS CHARGES AGAINST MR ROBERT MCBRIDE AND TWO OTHERS

01 November 2016

PRETORIA - Members of the media are advised that the prosecution team, after consultation with witnesses in preparation for trial, established that the state will not be able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt hence the withdrawal of the charges.

This article first appeared on News24, see here