Ekurhuleni metro police chief, Robert McBride involved in at least three court cases and reportedly at the centre of 18 police investigations, was sacked this week for allegedly violating a direct order when he returned to work recently while on special leave pending the outcome of his drunk driving trial.
McBride’s career, first as political activist and later as law enforcement official, has made news headlines repeatedly, starting with his detention in 1998 by Mozambican authorities on gun running charges.
Two years ago, McBride crashed his state-owned vehicle after a year-end function. He is to go on trial in Pretoria's High Court on October 16.
McBride’s car after the crash which he is accused of causing while driving drunk
To add to his misfortunes, McBride - who in 1986 was sentenced to death for the Magoo's Bar bombing in Durban but released with amnesty in 1992 - could be held liable to repay ratepayers the legal fees they had paid for him if he is found guilty of drunk driving. 
Robert McBride, far right, at the braai he attended before crashing his vehicle in 2006
Michele Clarke, the Democratic Alliance spokesperson on community safety, said Ekurhuleni council's city manager, Patrick Flusk, was only allowed to pay up to R10 000 of an employee's legal costs, if the actions of the employee occurred while on duty. "Flusk was in breach of his delegated powers by spending money not approved by council. Further expenses had to be approved by council. No such item was ever raised.
"In addition, a quarterly report then had to be presented to the council if the limit was exceeded," Clarke charged.
"Despite this, more than R4,9-million has already been spent on McBride's defence, and there is another R2,69-million on the cards...
"If we should consent to an open-ended agreement to pay for his legal fees, the ratepayers of Ekurhuleni could end up paying about R10-million or more towards this man's court case."
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