Taxpayers fork out millions for McBride

By Anna Louw and Lee Rondganger (www.iol.co.za)

Taxpayers are reported to have forked out at least R6,9-million in legal fees for Robert McBride, the Ekurhuleni metro’s suspended police chief.

Last night, Izak Berg, a local councillor and chairman of the Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa, said he had documents to prove that McBride’s legal fees had escalated from R2,3-million at the end of last year to R6,9-million to date.

Berg said people had a right to know what their money was being spent on.
He said Dehal Attorneys, who are handling McBride’s defence in his drunk driving case in Pretoria, had been paid R6,3-million so far. An invoice of R565 000 was still outstanding, to be paid by the Ekurhuleni metro.

Berg said he could not understand why the national or provincial governments had not stepped in to question why McBride’s legal fees were costing ordinary citizens so much.

“It seems that McBride has carte blanche or a blank cheque book.”

Berg said mayor Duma Nkosi was expected to make an announcement about McBride’s legal fees at the next metro council meeting at the end of the month.

A senior metro official on Tuesday confirmed that McBride’s official police vehicle, which he crashed after a year-end party on December 21 2006, had cost the metro R262 500 in insurance.

The official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the damaged car was towed to Witfield, Boksburg and had been stored there. The metro had also received bill of about R20 000 for the storage.

During the second day of McBride’s appearance in court, his one-time friend and now chief accuser, Stanley Sagathevan, testified how McBride had the propensity to consume large quantities of alcohol.

Sagathevan - taking the witness stand for the second day in the drunk driving, defeating the ends of justice, and fraud case - maintained that on the day McBride crashed his car, McBride was drunk.

He said McBride had drunk an entire bottle of whiskey - save for one tot that he had drunk with him.

This testimony and the events surrounding the day, including the statements Sagathevan made to police, were scrutinised by McBride’s defence team.

McBride’s lawyer, advocate Guido Penzhorn SC, put it to Sagathevan that it was “simply nonsense” that a person who had type 2 diabetes could drink a whole bottle of whiskey and still drive.

Sagathevan replied that he was often in McBride’s company while he was drinking and that McBride was a person who could “handle his alcohol”.

Penzhorn then showed Sagathevan an album of photos taken by him at the party on the day in question.

He told Sagathevan that of the 16 people photographed, 13 would come to court and testify that McBride was not drinking on the day and was not drunk.

The only three who had different versions were he, Itumeleng Koko and Patrick Johnston.

Penzhorn: “Are they all liars, are they?”

Sagathevan: “Yes they are all liars who are trying to protect themselves from victimisation.”

Sagathevan, Koko and Johnston all reportedly whisked McBride away from the crash scene.

They have all now turned State witnesses against McBride in exchange for escaping prosecution for the alleged cover-up.

Asked by Penzhorn why none of those pictures showed McBride with a glass of whiskey, Sagathevan said it just happened that way.

According to Sagathevan’s testimony, McBride arrived at the function at about 2pm on the day in question and left three and a half hours later after polishing a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

It was then put to him that the time on the photographs start at 6.12pm, which ties with McBride’s version that he only arrived at the function at 5.30pm and left some time after 6pm.

Sagathevan said the camera’s time was not correct and it was set on a default function.

Penzhorn said the time the accident occurred (about 6.50pm) also tied in with McBride’s version of the time he left the function.

Sagathevan stood by his testimony that McBride left at 5.30pm.

Asked by Penzhorn whether the motive for turning on McBride was linked to a police investigation into him over cash-in-transit heists that he wanted indemnity for, Sagathevan said it was not true and that his only motive was to get on with his life.

Sagathevan said that after the crash and subsequent cover-up, McBride had become paranoid and that McBride threatened and swore at him.

Asked why he had been threatened, he said it was the mere fact that he knew the truth about the accident that had made McBride paranoid and that was why he was threatened.

He said whenever things were not going McBride’s way he would threaten his staff and his famous words were: “You guys are trying to f*** me.”

Also on the stand was Koko, a former Ekurhuleni metro police officer. He testified that he was the one who drove McBride away from the scene.

He said that he and the deputy chief of police happened to be driving past the accident when they realised that it was McBride who had crashed his car.

He said he noticed that the “chief” was unsteady on his feet and that his eyes were red.

He said it was the deputy chief who said that McBride needed to be removed from the scene.

McBride has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving, defeating the ends of justice and fraud charges.

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