A matter of respect

Three men lounge on plastic camping chairs at what looks like a picnic site. Three of them are shirtless, their fat bellies sagging over their trousers. Two are holding glasses containing an amber liquid.

Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride lolls back in one of the chairs, his right hand raised in a bunny-ears salute.

After leaving this Christmas braai, McBride crashed his car near Centurion. This week the suspended police chief pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, driving under the influence of liquor and defeating the ends of justice.

McBride claims he was sober at the time of his accident, and that he was suffering from the hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar.

He swears blind he was not drunk — but a witness said this week he saw the police chief polish off most of a bottle of whiskey.

Where does the truth lie?

What is clear is that the ensuing controversy and trial has been a tremendous drain on resources.

These are officers who are being paid to concentrate on fighting crime, period — not to drive around trying to make evidence against their boss disappear, as some witness have testified. Also, those picnic photographs certainly don’t inspire much faith in officials who should be respected by the public.

Whatever the trial outcome, the image of the Ekurhuleni metro police has already taken a serious — and sad — knock.

FULL SPEED AHEAD	NOT SO FAST
Bongani Zondi This Johannesburg councillor looked at Soweto’s Arthur Ashe tennis courts, but didn’t see dusty tarmac and frayed nets. In his mind, a library stood there, welcoming Sowetans to a world of books and knowledge. This week, his dream was realised and Soweto now has a new centre of learning.	Robert McBride Whether he was drunk or not, the sight of the Ekurhuleni metro police chief lolling in his chair at a police braai last year does not engender confidence. He looks anything but a leader in the photographs that have been circulated.

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