Witnesses sought in McBride case

The Mercury claims to have spoken to five witnesses who are willing to give statements to the police accusing the Ekurhuleni Metro Police chief of being drunk when he smashed his car on the R511 highway outside Pretoria on the evening of December 21. All of the witnesses have submitted affidavits to the police watchdog body, the Independent Complaints Directorate, including allegations that McBride’s men acted like ‘hooligans’ to cover up for their boss. Ekurhuleni Metro Police spokesperson, Chief Supt Wilfred Kgasago. said yesterday that he could not comment on the case as it was in the hands of the police. The police took over investigating the case to ensure that there was no cover-up from the Metro Police. Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)

No blood test was conducted on McBride after the smash, according to a police spokesperson. In addition, the Metro police officers who rushed to the aid of McBride may be charged with defeating the ends of justice. A report on The Citizen site quotes an unnamed police source as saying McBride’s blood was not tested to see whether he was over the alcohol limit, because the officers attending simply wanted to get the injured chief to hospital. McBride was involved in the car crash on December 21, after leaving a year-end function. Full report in The Citizen

Gauteng police say they are still investigating the incident. Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo confirmed that charges of reckless and negligent driving were being investigated against McBride, but added that drunken driving charges were ‘not at this stage’ being investigated, according to a report on the SABC News site. He would not confirm reports that no blood had been drawn from McBride at the time for alcohol testing, saying only that the SAPS had not been involved at that stage. Full report on SABC News site