CAPE TOWN - Former police watchdog head Robert McBride on Wednesday said he would be approaching the courts to review the recently released Public Protector's report finding him guilty of misconduct.
"I will approach the High Court for an interdict against any remedial actions directed against me by the PP [Public Protector] and take this highly questionable report on review," the former executive director for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The PP's report found allegations that former IPID investigator Cedrick Nkabine was victimised for blowing the whistle on the misconduct was substantiated.
McBride is accused of irregularly appointing an expert to probe death threats against him and other investigators, and of the irregular appointment of a former SA Police Service admin clerk as deputy director of the National Specialised Investigation Team.
McBride refuted the allegations of maladministration, improper conduct and abuse of power, adding that a similar complaint was lodged with the Public Service Commission, which exonerated him.
"The PP’s report is clearly reviewable. It is irrational as the findings cannot be reconciled with the facts," his statement said.
"In essence, the PP’s report is an erosion of IPID’s independence and is likely to interrupt IPID’s investigations into industrial scale corruption and looting within the South African Police Service (SAPS), as the PP report spuriously implicates most of IPID’s executive members. It is clear that the intention is to disrupt the functioning of the IPID."
The former watchdog boss also questioned the timing of the release of the report.
"The timing is also suspicious in that the release is on the eve of the widely anticipated testimony of senior IPID investigators at the Zondo Commission into State Capture, which evidence started today [Wednesday]," said McBride.
"IPID must defend its independence. IPID must also defend its employees against this fight back campaign. If not, IPID will become a tool in the hands of the corrupt and succumb to political pressure."
- African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Emsie Ferreira