McBride no criminal – advocate

Berger said the acting editor Martin Williams ignored the fact that McBride was granted amnesty, thus clearing his criminal record for acts that were politically motivated. Berger added that a High Court in Mozambique withdrew charges of gun-running against McBride and therefore he had no criminal record. The articles were published before McBride’s appointment as the chief of the Ekurhuleni metro police. The articles stated that he was unsuitable for the position. Williams told the court the published articles stating that McBride was not suitable for the position of chief of metro police in Ekurhuleni was because of his criminal record, that included the bombing of a bar in which 69 people were injured and three killed in 1986. He said McBride was once detained for gun dealing in Mozambique and also had no experience or academic training as a traffic officer. Because of this he was not suitable for the position as the chief of metro police, said Williams. The case concerns mainly editorial comment by Williams, and opinion in a column by freelancer Andrew Kenny in September and October 2003. Full report on IoL site