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Court hears of McBride's crimes
25/07/2007 13:23 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The case in which Robert McBride is suing The Citizen newspaper for R3.6m for defamation resumed at the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday.
Testifying in court, the acting editor of The Citizen, Martin Williams, said 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 includes the bombing of a bar in which 69 people were injured and three killed.
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.
The blast Williams referred to was of a bar off Durban's beachfront in 1986, while McBride was a cadre in Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the then-banned African National Congress.
In 1998 McBride was arrested in Mozambique on suspicion of arms trafficking. He said he was investigating the illegal trade of arms.
McBride has two other court cases pending - one regarding a court order made against him and five metro police officers not to intimidate three colleagues who allegedly removed him from an accident scene without following proper procedure.
In November, he will face charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, defeating the ends of justice and fraud, in the Pretoria Regional Court relating to an accident in Centurion, Pretoria, in December.
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