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Robert McBride at Ad Hoc Committee
The assassination of senior Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) investigator, Mandla Mahlangu, is once again in sharp focus at Parliament today.
This as former IPID head Robert McBride is appearing for a second day before the Ad Hoc Committee probing criminal infiltration, corruption and political interference in the criminal justice system.
As part of its work probing threats to national security and the integrity of police oversight, the committee is questioning allegations surrounding Mahlangu’s murder, including questions about the conduct of senior police leadership.
ANC MP Xola Nqola pressed McBride on the remarks he described as inconsistencies in the actions of KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi following Mahlangu’s killing.
Nqola: You say Mandla Mahlangu was a friend of General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi?
McBride: Yes.
Nqola: They went to watch football together.
McBride: Yes, sir.
Nqola: They were buddies. General Mkhwanazi was there, amongst the first, if not the first, at the crime scene when Mr. Mahlangu was murdered, but he didn’t go to the funeral.
McBride: If he was there, he was hiding somewhere. He was not in the tent, and neither was he at the cemetery.
Nqola: But what are you trying to insinuate? With that statement alone, what are you trying to insinuate? You even go to an extent of saying General Mkhwanazi was in the scene whilst he is in HR. What, what are you trying to insinuate with that statement?
McBride: Oh, it’s just an inconsistency, sir. Just a big inconsistency. It’s something that any investigator worth their salt would question.
AD HOC COMM. | Robert McBride is asked what he means when he says Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi was first at the scene of Mandla Mahlangu but did not attend the funeral. He responds, saying this is inconsistent and adds that, in his view, the conduct is not normal. pic.twitter.com/uHO2CGFmpM
— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 21, 2026
