MPs demand DA Dianne Kohler Barnard's immediate recusal after allegedly leaking crime intelligence
SAPS Inquiry
Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament (MP) Dianne Kohler Barnard and National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams have responded after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made several allegations.
Image: David Ritchie / Independent Newspapers
As DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard faces increasing pressure to resign from the ad hoc committee looking into police corruption following shocking claims that she leaked classified Crime Intelligence material, tensions in Parliament have escalated.
Lt-Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KZN Police Commissioner, made the shocking allegations that Kohler Barnard had illegally revealed top-secret intelligence to the Madlanga Commission and Parliament.
This resulted in targeted attacks on the Crime Intelligence Unit.
Kohler Barnard has since hit back hard, saying, “These allegations are outrageous, defamatory, and baseless.” She also demanded an apology.
“The honourable member forgets that she took an oath before South Africans in Parliament not to divulge the secrets of government,” said Mkhwanazi. “I can only apologise for that.”
Nevertheless, the political knives have continued to emerge. With support from MK Party MP David Skosana, ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli spearheaded a chorus of demands for her recusal.
“So we would like the DA and the member concerned to consider withdrawing her membership from the committee to protect all of us,” Ntuli said.
Skosana added bluntly that she must account for all the allegations against her.
The drama unfolded during and after Mkhwanazi’s testimony late Tuesday and into Wednesday morning — with proceedings already bogged down by delays and disputes over affidavits and evidence protocols.
The DA has so far closed ranks. DA MP Ian Cameron defended Kohler Barnard, saying: “No one is going to recuse themselves.” She was notably absent from Wednesday’s session.
Behind the scenes, pressure is building on the DA to take a stance: either pull Kohler Barnard from the committee or risk further backlash as the high-profile corruption probe continues under intense public scrutiny.
With Mkhwanazi still on the witness stand, this controversy threatens to derail the entire investigation.
The committee’s integrity and Kohler Barnard’s political future hang in the balance.
Meanwhile, Mkhwanazi implicated NCC MP Fadiel Adams at the Madlanga Commission for having access to crime intelligence classified information and handled it “recklessly”.
IOL Politics