JOHANNESBURG — The South African government on Tuesday nominated an ex-police officer once accused of gun running, drink driving and a deadly anti-apartheid bombing to head the country’s police watchdog.



The cabinet named former local police chief Robert McBride, 50, to lead the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), which polices criminal conduct within the force.



“We believe Mr McBride’s appointment as head of IPID will help this important institution to achieve this mandate,” Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said in a statement. McBride is no stranger to the law.



As a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC’s military wing, he was convicted by the apartheid government for the 1986 bombing of a bar in Durban that killed three people. He was later granted amnesty by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. — AFP