Pretoria - Independent Police Investigative
Directorate (Ipid) head Robert McBride asked the North Gauteng High Court in
Pretoria on Friday to grant an urgent interdict against Police Minister Nathi
Nhleko's plans to suspend him.
"This is about a letter sent on
Wednesday morning to my client to make submissions [by the end of the day] why
he shouldn't be suspended," said McBride's lawyer Steven Budlender.
"The submissions have been made as a
matter of caution," Budlender said.
He confirmed that McBride had not yet been
suspended and that, according to discussions in Chambers, it was agreed he
would not be suspended until judgment was delivered.
Budlender asked the court to declare the
minister's decision unlawful and invalid, and sought an order declaring
unlawful provisions giving the minister permission to suspend the head of an
independent body.
Parliamentary judgment
"This is not an employment case. This
is a case about the fundamental independence of Ipid... If my client is
suspended, that will cause severe harm to Ipid itself," he submitted.
"The only way the head of an
independent body can be suspended lawfully is by a parliamentary judgment.
"The provisions have to adequately
protect the head of Ipid."
Budlender submitted he would argue McBride's
case "briefly and crisply" before submitting heads of argument on
Monday.
Judgment is expected on Wednesday.
McBride appeared cheerful when he arrived
at court. He sat in the front row of the public gallery wearing a black,
pin-striped jacket.
