At a time when the police are facing a crisis of credibility, the choice of Robert McBride is a gross failure, says the Pretoria News editor.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s announcement that he would recommend former Ekurhuleni police chief and MK operative Robert McBride as the head of the police watchdog body, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, is ill-considered.
At a time when the police are facing a crisis of credibility, the choice of McBride is a gross failure to read the signs of the times.
There are some jobs that require more than just technical competence. The Ipid is one such job. It is an office that has a huge task given the unacceptable number of incidents in which the police are accused of having broken the law either in their personal capacities or in the line of duty.
The slightest whiff of lack of personal integrity of the incumbent has the potential of damaging that office, even if the person has no criminal record.
There is a dangerously disingenuous tendency in South Africa to assume that only a criminal record can taint a reputation and all other complaints against a person that fall short of being a crime mean that the person is fit and proper to hold a position of public trust and responsibility.
Furthermore, the job is too important at this time in the history of law enforcement in South Africa to make it about the debate over whether one believes McBride is a struggle hero or a terrorist.
Either view is not only divisive but also looks backwards. Its other shortcoming is that it makes McBride the focus, rather than what it is that is required to restore integrity in law enforcement. The debate over whether McBride is a hero or a villain diverts from the important question of whether a proposed candidate is, all things considered, the best person for the job.
In the event that Mthethwa might have forgotten, the Ipid was set up to enforce integrity in the police service, not rehabilitate the impaired reputation of those who occupy it. It is therefore integral to the job that the candidate’s stature be beyond reproach.
McBride’s is simply not, and this is based on what is objectively known of him post-apartheid struggle. The minister must therefore reconsider his recommendation and place the interest of law enforcement ahead of politics.
* This is the editorial leader carried on the opinion page of the Pretoria News.
Pretoria News