Riddle of McBride's car crash
24 November 2009, 09:15
Was axed Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride's 2006 car crash an assassination attempt aimed at silencing his questions into a multimillion-rand property deal?
This is the question being asked after Eyewitness News reported yesterday that an "explosive police report" alleged that the crash was an assassination attempt, that McBride's brakes had been tampered with on two previous occasions, and a yellow Mazda had been on the road at the time of the crash and driven in such a manner as to cause McBride to swerve and lose control.
McBride is facing charges of drunken driving, defeating the ends of justice and fraud. He has pleaded not guilty. The State alleges he tried to cover up that he was drunk.
The ex-police chief, however, maintains he has no memory of the accident. He has pleaded not guilty.
McBride left an office Christmas party on a Friday afternoon in December, 2006, then crashed and rolled his state-owned Chevrolet Lumina while travelling on the R511. At least five witnesses who stopped at the scene to help submitted statements to say that McBride smelt of alcohol when he climbed out of the wreckage.
He was rushed from the scene of the accident, which occurred in the jurisdiction of the Tshwane metro police, by Ekurhuleni metro police who allegedly threatened bystanders with firearms as they loaded McBride into their vehicle.
They left the scene with him before the ambulance arrived.
Yesterday Eyewitness News reported that an "explosive" police report showed that a police officer investigating claims of corruption related to multimillion-rand property deals admitted there were several strange and unexplained issues around McBride's accident, leading him to believe it was an assassination attempt.
McBride's trial is set to go ahead in the Pretoria Regional Court on March 23.
Meanwhile, Pasco, the company probing two major land deal s in the Ekurhuleni municipality at the time of McBride's crash, confirmed last night that they too had received threats from anonymous sources.
"There were powerful interests who were definitely threatened by both investigations," said Pasco's MD for Africa, Mark Welman.
The investigations were into the allegedly corrupt Meyersdal land deal, in which several prominent councillors were involved, and corruption at the municipal workshops.
Welman explained that he and his investigators received "credible threats".
He added that some employees were placed under surveillance but that no criminal charges were laid as the identity of those making the threats remained elusive. Welman also said that McBride had raised his allegation that his car brakes might have been tampered with as far back as two years before the incident.
He would not, however, specifically comment about yesterday's revelations.
Pasco came under fire by allegations that it was in cahoots with McBride and his legal team, channelling money by overcharging for its work. The company has denied these claims.
McBride refused to comment on the reports and the police said they were not aware of any new statements relating to the controversial 2006 car crash.
This is the question being asked after Eyewitness News reported yesterday that an "explosive police report" alleged that the crash was an assassination attempt, that McBride's brakes had been tampered with on two previous occasions, and a yellow Mazda had been on the road at the time of the crash and driven in such a manner as to cause McBride to swerve and lose control.
McBride is facing charges of drunken driving, defeating the ends of justice and fraud. He has pleaded not guilty. The State alleges he tried to cover up that he was drunk.
The ex-police chief, however, maintains he has no memory of the accident. He has pleaded not guilty.
McBride left an office Christmas party on a Friday afternoon in December, 2006, then crashed and rolled his state-owned Chevrolet Lumina while travelling on the R511. At least five witnesses who stopped at the scene to help submitted statements to say that McBride smelt of alcohol when he climbed out of the wreckage.
He was rushed from the scene of the accident, which occurred in the jurisdiction of the Tshwane metro police, by Ekurhuleni metro police who allegedly threatened bystanders with firearms as they loaded McBride into their vehicle.
They left the scene with him before the ambulance arrived.
Yesterday Eyewitness News reported that an "explosive" police report showed that a police officer investigating claims of corruption related to multimillion-rand property deals admitted there were several strange and unexplained issues around McBride's accident, leading him to believe it was an assassination attempt.
McBride's trial is set to go ahead in the Pretoria Regional Court on March 23.
Meanwhile, Pasco, the company probing two major land deal s in the Ekurhuleni municipality at the time of McBride's crash, confirmed last night that they too had received threats from anonymous sources.
"There were powerful interests who were definitely threatened by both investigations," said Pasco's MD for Africa, Mark Welman.
The investigations were into the allegedly corrupt Meyersdal land deal, in which several prominent councillors were involved, and corruption at the municipal workshops.
Welman explained that he and his investigators received "credible threats".
He added that some employees were placed under surveillance but that no criminal charges were laid as the identity of those making the threats remained elusive. Welman also said that McBride had raised his allegation that his car brakes might have been tampered with as far back as two years before the incident.
He would not, however, specifically comment about yesterday's revelations.
Pasco came under fire by allegations that it was in cahoots with McBride and his legal team, channelling money by overcharging for its work. The company has denied these claims.
McBride refused to comment on the reports and the police said they were not aware of any new statements relating to the controversial 2006 car crash.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Star on November 24, 2009
Pretoria
