Nkabinde tells Parliament: Cele used whistleblower report to block McBride’s contract

Cedrick Nkabinde, chief of staff to suspended Minister Senzo Mchunu, says former police minister Bheki Cele used his IPID whistleblower report to block the renewal of ex-IPID head Robert McBride’s contract.

Testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Thursday, Nkabinde said he submitted the report to Cele on 28 April 2018, detailing alleged misconduct within IPID and implicating McBride and private investigator Paul O’Sullivan.

However, Nkabinde said the report was leaked to McBride a month later, on 25 May 2018, prompting his immediate suspension.

“Mr McBride got so upset with me and he suspended me immediately because of that disclosure which I made to the Minister,” Nkabinde told the committee.

He said his departmental hearing was set for 19 September 2018 in Sandton, but before it could begin, McBride arrived unexpectedly at the venue.

“It was a shock to all of us that McBride was there because he’s the executive director,” Nkabinde said.

He added that McBride held a long discussion with IPID’s legal team before proposing a settlement agreement in which all charges against Nkabinde would be withdrawn if he agreed to resign.

“That is part of our confidential settlement agreement, which I accepted,” Nkabinde said.

“So I left IPID after entering into that settlement agreement where all charges McBride was charging me, he withdrew.”

He confirmed that the written statement referred to this agreement.

When asked by committee’s senior counsel Norman Arendse whether the  effect of the settlement was to “sweep his whistleblower report under the carpet,” Nkabinde responded, saying that it was not the case.

“No, it was not correct,” he said. “It was thoroughly ventilated, which consequently meant Mr. McBride’s contract was not renewed because of that report.”

Nkabinde told the committee that Minister Cele had subsequently used his report as one of the reasons for refusing to renew McBride’s contract.

“My report was dealt with in the Portfolio Committee on Police where they were deliberating the renewal of the contract of Mr McBride,” he said.

“It was also referred to the National Assembly, where they had to determine whether the contract should be renewed.”

He said his report had ultimately led to criminal investigations. “Two criminal dockets were registered,” Nkabinde said.

“One was opened by the former Hawks boss of Gauteng, General Prince Mokotedi, who opened a case of treason because of that report.

”There was also another docket where McBride, O’Sullivan, and Matthews Sesoko were implicated. O’Sullivan and McBride were subsequently arrested,” he said. 

Nkabinde said he had provided a formal statement to the investigating officer and was a key witness in both dockets. “The matters are still pending,” he told the committee.

Nkabinde said that the fallout from his report had lasting personal consequences.

“Hence Mr McBride hates me with passion as we speak, and Mr Paul O’Sullivan,” Nkabinde said.

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za 

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