DA’s Kohler-Barnard says Mkhwanazi is a ‘very frustrated officer’, denies leak claims

DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard during the parliamentary ad hoc committee inquiry at the Good Hope Chambers in Cape Town on 16 October 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Brenton Geach DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard has told parliament’s ad hoc committee that KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s accusations that she leaked classified information were driven by frustration. Kohler-Barnard appeared before the committee at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town on Thursday to respond to allegations levelled against her by Mkhwanazi.

Last year, the KZN police commissioner claimed that Kohler-Barnard, an alternate member of the committee, had obtained andexposed classified intelligence. The allegations relate to claims that Crime Intelligence used money from its secret service account – often referred to as a slush fund – to purchase two luxury hotels. Mkhwanazi argued that Kohler-Barnard, a long-serving MP and a member of the joint standing committee on intelligence (JSCI), should have known how to properly handle sensitive information.

Although Kohler-Barnard has previously denied the allegations, saying the matter was already in the public domain, the claims sparked a heated debate within the committee, with some memberscalling for her recusal. During proceedings, Kohler-Barnard maintained that exposing corruption was a core responsibility of her role as an MP, but insisted that the strict rules governing the JSCI made it impossible for her to leak classified material. “The joint standing committee is a very strange committee in that you take nothing in, you take nothing out.

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You never walk or stroll out with some classified documents, it’s impossible. It cannot happen,” she said. She confirmed that she holds a security clearance after being vetted by the State Security Agency (SSA), unlike some South African Police Service officials. “It’s an issue when you have people dealing with classified information with no clearance,” the DA MP said.

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