In a ruling seen as a boost for the independence of police watchdog Ipid, the Constitutional Court yesterday confirmed Police Minister Nathi Nhleko did not have the legal power to suspend Ipid head Robert McBride. The court declared McBride’s suspension invalid and set it aside. It also rejected Nhleko’s arguments that – notwithstanding that the suspension and disciplinary proceedings were unlawful – they should remain in place because of the claimed seriousness of the allegations against him.

A BDlive report notes a unanimous judgment – penned by acting Justice Ronnie Bosielo – said sections of the Ipid Act that permitted the Minister to suspend the Ipid head created ‘room for the Minister to invoke partisan political influence (and) might lead to Ipid becoming politicised and being manipulated’. McBride was suspended in March last year on allegations that he had covered up the alleged involvement of senior Hawks officials in the unlawful renditions of four Zimbabweans. The court ruled Parliament must decide whether McBride had a case to answer and to initiate a disciplinary process. McBride could be suspended only once such a process had begun – within 30 days, during which time the suspension would remain in place.

Full BDlive report

McBride v Minister of Police and Another

In the meantime, the removal of the Ipid head must be treated in law in the same way as the head of the Hawks. This means that only a committee of the National Assembly may take disciplinary steps against McBride, says a Business Day report. If Parliament wanted to remove him, it would need a two-thirds majority vote to do so. However, the legislation does not specify which committee would be tasked with the issue. Chair of the Police Committee, Francois Beukman, said the matter would first have to be referred to the Speaker by the Minister before any committee became involved. He said, however, that the Police Committee would have to look at the Ipid Act and consider how to remedy its defects. The report notes McBride still faces criminal charges related to the rendition allegations, and is due to appear next in court in November.

Full Business Day report (subscription needed)

McBride welcomed the judgment, but said the process had been a waste of taxpayers' money, notes a TimesLIVE report. He said the principle of Ipid's independence 'has been established’, adding he would now wait 30 days to see if any steps will be taken against him. ‘It must be remembered I initially approached the National Assembly to account to them on the report (on the renditions matter). As soon as 30 days are over‚ I would like to return to work‚’ McBride said. He also said although the court awarded him legal costs‚ this was taxpayers’ money‚ which was unnecessarily spent. A report on the IoL site says Nhleko ‘is reflecting’ on the implications of the judgment. ‘The Minister is reflecting on its implications. It must be noted that the court made a judgment on the procedural aspects of the case and not on the merits of the allegations against Mr Robert McBride,’ according to a Police Ministry statement.

Full TimesLIVE report

Full report on the IoL site

COPE says the Police Minister should pay McBride’s ‘legal fees from his own personal money’. And the DA said that the Constitutional Court’s ruling ‘should see Nhleko’s resignation effective immediately’. A TimesLIVE report quotes COPE’s Dennis Bloem as saying: ‘We’ve said on numerous occasions that Nhleko abused his power and he was wasting taxpayers’ money by running to court without applying his mind.’ He added that ‘McBride’s suspension and criminal charges by Nhleko without evidence that he doctored an investigation report to clear some Hawks officials was a desperate and bizarre move. We are demanding that Minister Nhleko must pay McBride’s legal fees from his own personal money; this must not come from the taxpayers'. The DA’s Zakhele Mbhele said this ‘would be the third such time that the Police Minister’s actions have been found to be ‘invalid’ and this should see his immediate resignation; failing which‚ President Zuma should fire him immediately or face being complicit in the erosion of the Constitution and due process'.

Full TimesLIVE report

The judgment is linked to the broader fight on state institutions being used to protect political interests in a Daily Maverick report. It notes it has been alleged that McBride was suspended, while former Hawks head Anwa Dramat and former Gauteng head Shadrack Sibiya were both targeted and are no longer in their positions, to stop politically sensitive investigations and allow for a new Hawks boss to be appointed who could use the institution to target opponents of certain ANC leaders. In such a light, says the report, the appointment of Hawks head Berning Ntlemeza and the Hawks' pursuance of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and other SARS officials come as a result of the allegations and actions against McBride, Dramat and Sibiya. McBride yesterday questioned the motives behind the charges against him. ‘If you remember institutions were attacked at the same time – the second half of 2014, first half 2015 ... We are now aware that there is a group of people doing it. We know who these people are we're not sure what the motive was,’ he told eNCA in a live television interview. Regarding the Hawks’ investigations in his case and Gordhan’s, McBride said: ‘Any semblance of independence is absent at the moment.’ Dismissing the allegations against him, he continued, ‘The strategy is plain to see. It's political gangsterism. That what is taking place and that has to be resisted at all costs and institutions in this country have to be protected.’ The Helen Suzman Foundation was introduced as amicus curiae to the case and said the court's ruling ‘protects state institutions responsible for fighting crime, corruption and the misuse of state power from political interference’.

Full Daily Maverick report