McNamara wants drugs charges withdrawn

Former Western Cape government official Dave McNamara wants drug possession charges against him dropped, the Cape Town Magistrate's Court heard on Friday.

His attorney William Booth said he had been instructed by his client to ask the National Prosecutions Authority to withdraw the charges.

Booth said he and prosecutor Leon Snyman had agreed that McNamara would avail himself to DNA tests in order to complete the investigation.

He was arrested in June last year at inner city apartments in Cape Town after he was found in possession of the drug tik, and a broken bottle-neck used to inhale the substance.

Booth said tests had already been done on the bottle-neck, but that prosecutors now required more tests from McNamara.

At the time of his arrest, McNamara, 48, was the provincial director for community development and spearheaded programmes to combat drug abuse.

He was to have faced a disciplinary hearing, but resigned before it could take place.

Booth said McNamara agreed to submit to a second round of tests provided that his own private DNA experts could examine the test results.

“We all need finality in this matter as it has been pending for some time,” he said.

Magistrate Nadia Bonwari postponed the case to February 13, and McNamara's bail was extended. - Sapa

State seeks match with DNA on tik lolly

Cape Town - The State intends matching the DNA found on drug paraphernalia with that of former Western Cape Social Welfare Services chief director Dave McNamara, allegedly found in possession of the items last year.

Prosecutor Leon Snyman told the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday that the forensic laboratory has been asked to analyse the tik lolly and seven packets containing tik residue allegedly confiscated from McNamara. A DNA profile had been compiled and it had to be compared with McNamara’s DNA.

McNamara, who was in charge of all social workers in the province and the Social Development Department’s programmes against drugs, resigned in September, his lawyer, William Booth, confirmed. McNamara was arrested after police stopped him at a filling station in Orange Street and found a tik lolly and seven packets on him.

McNamara had been expected to go on trial on Thursday, but Booth had written to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to have the charges dropped.

Booth told the court Snyman had informed him the representations were unsuccessful. Booth said the DPP had explained why the submissions had been turned down, in a bundle of 20 to 25 pages.

On the DNA tests, Booth said he was concerned the tik lolly and small packets were contaminated. He noted that they had been tested in July last year. Snyman said if the defence did not co-operate with the investigating officer and allow a DNA sample to be taken, the State would seek an order forcing him to comply. Booth replied: “I indicated the item could be contaminated, not that we do not wish to co-operate.”

The matter was adjourned until November 23.

- Cape Argus