DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard testified before Parliament's ad hoc committee on 5 February 2026, denying accusations from KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that she leaked sensitive Crime Intelligence information. She insisted her statements were based on public reports to expose potential cover-ups in the unit's operations. The committee is probing allegations of criminal infiltration in the justice system.
On 5 February 2026, Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler Barnard appeared before Parliament's ad hoc committee investigating allegations of drug cartel infiltration, corruption, and political interference in South Africa's criminal justice system. The testimony centered on accusations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi in July 2025, who claimed Kohler Barnard had accessed and disseminated confidential Crime Intelligence details, suggesting she broke the law and deserved jail time.
Kohler Barnard, a DA MP since 2004 and a member of the police portfolio committee since 2006—with interruptions—firmly denied any leakage or negligence. 'I did not leak anything out of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence,' she stated. She explained that her public statements, including press releases in January and February 2025, drew from a News24 article about a R22.7-million luxury hotel purchase in Pretoria North using secret funds, and whistleblower information on a property in Berea, Durban. These actions, she said, aimed to avoid complicity in a cover-up, as Minister Dean Macpherson had confirmed his department was uninformed about the deals.
The hearing spotlighted the Crime Intelligence unit's notorious slush fund, long accused of looting. Kohler Barnard highlighted repeated procurement irregularities, noting, 'Procurements is one of the major biggest ones. Certainly, the slush fund is a huge problem... anyone who has tried to control it or to get it under control has been sent out without a doubt.' She referenced former unit head Richard Mdluli's ongoing corruption trial, the 2025 arrest of current head Dumisani Khumalo over an irregular appointment, and the suspension of Inspector-General of Intelligence Imtiaz Fazel in October 2025 amid probes into multimillion-rand property buys violating regulations.
Kohler Barnard suggested Mkhwanazi's accusations stemmed from personal animosity, as she had previously reported him to the Public Protector over administrative concerns, proposing his removal. 'I think he took it very personal,' she said, describing his earlier testimony as a 'very threatening outburst' driven by anger. The committee, of which she is an alternate member and part of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence since April 2025, plans to resume next week.
