‘Liar and greedy’: McBride slams Nkabinde’s testimony

Former Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) head Robert McBride has hit back at allegations made by Cedrick Nkabinde about his ouster as an Ipid investigator.

McBride was testifying before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption within the criminal justice system.

In previous testimony, Nkabinde said he was suspended in 2018 immediately after submitting a whistleblower report to McBride. He alleged McBride pressured him into a settlement agreement, forcing him to resign in exchange for dropping disciplinary charges.

“I left Ipid after agreeing to the settlement agreement with McBride. I had no choice but to accept the agreement and walk away,” Nkabinde told the committee.

He is now serving as the chief of staff in the police ministry.

On Tuesday, McBride dismissed the claims as “lies”.

“The first lie was that I suspended him,” McBride said. “That is not true. Nkabinde was suspended by his supervisor in KwaZulu-Natal. His suspension had nothing to do with me.”

To support his statement, McBride produced a suspension letter dated June 4 2018 signed by Parbathie Maharaj, former Ipid head in KwaZulu-Natal.

McBride denied Ipid initiated the settlement offer. He presented a letter from Nkabinde’s legal representative which suggested Nkabinde was the one seeking an exit.

He also addressed corruption allegations against former acting national police commissioner Lt-Gen Khomotso Phahlane.

Nkabinde was originally brought into Ipid to assist with investigations into Phahlane. However, McBride testified Nkabinde was removed from the task team after failing to disclose he had been approached by other police officers to “scuttle” (undermine) the investigation.

“After he was removed from the task team and sent back to his province, he went on a rampage and complaints started popping up,” McBride said. He dismissed Nkabinde’s claims of a conspiracy to falsely target Phahlane, calling them baseless.

McBride, in his assessment of Nkabinde’s character, described him as a man motivated by greed and vanity.

“Nkabinde is a greedy person who wants acknowledgement without putting in the work. He likes money,” McBride told the committee. “We were aware of him buying 10 suits at a time and similar behaviour. He enjoys a flashy lifestyle.”

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