Former IPID head, Robert McBride, said he warned the suspended police minister, Police Minister, Senzo Mchunu, against appointing Cedric Nkabinde as his chief of staff, citing what he described as Nkabinde’s uncontrollable love for money and questionable integrity.

McBride made the disclosure while testifying before Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing allegations of corruption, political interference, and criminal infiltration within the criminal justice system and the South African Police Service (SAPS) on Tuesday.

“I had warned Mchunu previously, before he was appointed, that the guy is not to be trusted,” McBride told the committee, painting Nkabinde as a figure driven by greed and entitlement rather than public service.

According to McBride, Nkabinde cultivated a lavish lifestyle that raised red flags within law enforcement circles.

He alleged that Nkabinde was known for purchasing expensive designer clothing in bulk, including “buying 10 suits at a time,” behaviour McBride said was inconsistent with a public servant’s known income.

McBride linked these concerns to a broader corruption investigation involving SAPS, though he stopped short of providing details, citing legal constraints.

“I can’t speak about an ongoing investigation,” he said, emphasising that the probe originated during his tenure at IPID but was no longer under his control.

“It’s not that I’m refusing. It’s not my investigation.”

He further questioned Nkabinde’s conduct and transparency, particularly regarding an unexplained weekend trip with KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi.

McBride told the committee that Nkabinde dismissed inquiries by describing it merely as “a boys’ weekend out” and refused to elaborate.

“So some secret business went on there,” McBride alleged.

Nkabinde’s name has surfaced repeatedly in allegations of political interference and corruption within SAPS, with claims that he wielded influence beyond his formal role, often operating behind the scenes.

In a separate but equally serious claim, McBride accused former Police Minister Nathi Nhleko of employing an undocumented Zimbabwean national, Leon Mbangwa, in the minister’s office using a fraudulent South African identity document.

McBride alleged that Mbangwa had access to classified information despite having no security clearance.

McBride told the committee that chiefs of staff across government had become a systemic vulnerability and required urgent scrutiny.

His testimony is expected to continue on Wednesday as the committee intensifies its inquiry into corruption at the highest levels of policing and political oversight.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

Source link