Cape Town – Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard expects an apology from KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi when he appears before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee on Tuesday.
Mkhwanazi previously accused Kohler-Barnard at the Madlanga Commission of disclosing classified crime intelligence and being part of a criminal syndicate — claims she denies.
He accused Barnard of using secret intelligence to attack the Crime Intelligence unit instead of raising issues through Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence.
“What we see here is a person who has a legal obligation to keep her mouth shut and go to the joint standing committee and present and ventilate and hold the division account. But she does not use that platform, but goes publicly and discloses this,” Mkhwanazi said.
[WATCH] Lt General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi says Dianne Kohler Barnard is one of the leaders in the legislature participating in breaking the law and fueling malicious attacks within Crime Intelligence. pic.twitter.com/CmEcvXqwfL
— SABC News (@SABCNews) September 18, 2025
According to IOL, last month, the Ad Hoc Committee debated whether Kohler-Barnard should recuse herself.
The controversy has raised questions about conflicts of interest and parliamentary ethics.
Ahead of Mkhwanazi’s appearance before the committee, Kohler-Barnard expressed hope he would retract his allegations but admitted she is not expecting an apology.
“I am hoping that perhaps tomorrow (Tuesday) he will finally apologise or retract the claim that he made on that initial day at the Madlanga Commission where he claimed I had broken the law and I was a criminal, and I was part of a criminal syndicate,” Kohler-Barnard said during an interview with Newzroom Afrika.
Ad hoc committee member Dianne Kohler Barnard says she is expecting an apology and retraction from Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who takes the stand before Parliament’s inquiry into the SAPS. Mkhwanazi told the #MadlangaCommssion that Kohler Barnard unlawfully used classified information… pic.twitter.com/4zb39c9g9l
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) October 6, 2025
“We will see tomorrow, he is up first and will be on for the whole day. Certainly we cannot have SAPS members attempting to shut down parliamentarians doing their job.”
Mkhwanazi, along with national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola, is among the first witnesses scheduled to testify.
His appearance follows the adjournment of the Madlanga Commission after Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo fell ill.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
