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'McBride lost his gun'

Sipho Masombuka

Sipho Masombuka

A second witness in the case of fraud, drunken driving and defeating the ends of justice against Chief of Ekurhuleni Metro Police Robert McBride took the stand in the Pretoria magistrate's court yesterday.

The testimony of the former Ekurhuleni Metro Police superintendent Itumeleng Koko, who removed McBride from the accident scene, corroborated that of first witness, Stanley Sagathevan that McBride was drunk and had finished a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

The only new evidence which emerged from Koko was that McBride's service pistol had gone missing during the accident and was never recovered. Koko said he had suggested that Sagathevan drive McBride because "he (McBride) was not sober enough to drive".

"When we removed him from the accident scene bystanders shouted that we shouldn't remove McBride because he was visibly drunk. He was unsteady, his speech slurred and his eyes were bloodshot," said Koko.

During the cross-examination of Sagathevan, McBride's counsel Advocate Guido Penzhorn said Sagathevan had testified against McBride because he had been promised immunity regarding his involvement in a cash-in-transit heist, which the witness claimed he knew nothing about.

The defence's submission is that McBride suffered from hyperglycaemia (low blood sugar) and the attack might have resulted in the accident.

McBride has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The defence is expected to cross-examine Koko when the trial resumes today.

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