Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s chief of staff, Cedric Nkabinde, has told Parliament how he was dismissed from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) following a fallout with the agency’s former head, Robert McBride.
Testifying before the parliamentary ad hoc committee investigating allegations of corruption and political interference in policing, Nkabinde detailed his departure from the police watchdog, where he had worked as an investigator.
Nkabinde said his relationship with McBride deteriorated after he compiled and submitted a report alleging misconduct within IPID. The report, he explained, contained serious claims implicating McBride and private investigator Paul O’Sullivan. Nkabinde said he sent the report to then Police Minister Bheki Cele, believing it was his duty as a public servant to expose wrongdoing.
“The very same report ended up in the hands of McBride,” Nkabinde told the committee. “He became extremely upset because the report implicated him and Paul O’Sullivan. Shortly afterward, he suspended me.”
According to Nkabinde, his suspension marked the beginning of a campaign to discredit him within IPID. He said his efforts to raise concerns about alleged misconduct were met with hostility and led to his eventual dismissal.
The parliamentary inquiry is examining whether senior police officials and politicians interfered with investigations or used their positions to protect certain individuals. Nkabinde’s testimony forms part of a broader effort to uncover the extent of internal conflicts within South Africa’s law enforcement oversight institutions.
Nkabinde now serves as chief of staff to the suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, a position he took up after leaving IPID. His evidence adds a new layer to the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption and abuse of power within the country’s policing structures.
