Charles Molele
Former IPID boss Robert McBride testified at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on Friday that the Werksmans Attorney’s report, used to bring criminal charges against him, jumped into wrong conclusions regarding the Zimbabwean rendition saga.
McBride told the commission that while he recognized Werksmans Attorneys as international law firm of high standing, their report was based on limited knowledge and that as a private law firm, it shouldn’t have been involved in NPA matters.
He stopped short of saying that the law firm acted in bad faith during their investigation.
He testified that it was also strange that the author of the Werksmans report was reluctant to testify before the commission.
“In my view, in this instance, they got it wrong and they jumped to conclusions. It was a hurried report,” McBride told the commission on Friday.
McBride also accused former Police Minister Nathi Nhleko of interfering in Werksmans’ investigation by contacting IPID investigator Innocent Khuba while the investigation was underway.
Nhleko allegedly invited Khuba to Cape Town on his department’s expense.
McBride said the purpose was to influence the investigation.
McBride was arrested in 2016 a year after the Werksmans report was released.
McBride also accused Nhleko of not understanding and respecting the independence of IPID.
“The minister did not understand the notion of the independence of IPID. He did not understand where his authority begins and ends,” he said.
On Thursday, McBride explained that when he was appointed as IPID head in 2014 he decided to re-evaluate the Zimbabwe rendition matter.
The matter involved former Hawks head Anwa Dramat and former Gauteng Hawks head Shadrick Sibiya, who had been accused of unlawfully handing over Zimbabwean fugitives to the Zimbabwean police in 2010.
The suspects later died in custody.
The first report had recommended that Dramat and Sibiya be prosecuted regarding their involvement in the rendition matter.
The final report, which was compiled under McBride’s supervision, recommended that no charges be brought against Sibiya and Dramat.
McBride said those recommendations were based on the fact that cellphone records showed that Sibiya and Dramat were not in the area where the rendition took place.
Nhleko took issue with McBride for the second report and accused him of falsifying it.
This is the reason he gave to suspend McBride and also appoint Werksmans to investigate the matter.
Nhleko appointed Werksmans to investigate why findings of the IPID probe into police renditions of Zimbabweans were altered radically just days after McBride took over IPID.
After reviewing case documents and interviewing IPID, police investigators, McBride and several senior prosecutors assigned to the case, Werksmans Attorneys concluded that:
- McBride, IPID head of investigations Matthews Sesoko and renditions lead investigator Khuba should be charged criminally and departmentally for allegedly removing evidence from a previous IPID report to exonerate Dramat and Sibiya
- The original finding that Dramat, Sibiya and other Hawks officials be charged criminally for kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice must stand
- Home affairs officials must be charged with fraud for providing forged deportation documents
- The NPA must be investigated for irregularities in its handling the docket and IPID reports.
The inquiry continues on Monday.
