Ms Dianne Kohler-Barnard has told Parliament's Ad Hoc Committee probing allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi that she never mishandled classified intelligence information, maintaining that the information in question was already in the public domain.
Ms Kohler-Barnard is a member of the ad hoc committee but is appearing before the committee in relation to allegations concerning the South African Police Service's Crime Intelligence branch and the purchase of a Pretoria North property, described as a "luxury hotel", for approximately R23 million using a secret SAPS "slush fund". The allegations stem from claims made by Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi at a press conference in July 2025, where he alleged that Ms Kohler-Barnard had shared classified information and was part of a criminal syndicate.
In her statement to the committee, Ms Kohler-Barnard stated that the information relating to the property purchase was already publicly available at the time she made comments on the matter. She said her January 2025 statement was informed by a News24 article as well as a public statement made by the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Mr Dean Macpherson, which confirmed that the property was not procured through his department.
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During her evidence, Ms Kohler-Barnard emphasised that procurement processes and the handling of the "slush fund" were at the heart of challenges within the South African Police Service. "The slush fund is a huge problem. Looking globally, it is often handled differently to the way it is handled here. Everyone has that sort of fund, but the handling of it has been extremely difficult," she said.
Ms Kohler-Barnard also told the committee that Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi's allegations against her arose from what she described as an erroneous belief that she had disclosed classified information. She noted that all communications she was accused of making occurred before she became a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI).
Lt Gen Mkhwanazi had previously taken issue with Ms Kohler-Barnard for raising parliamentary questions in the Police portfolio committee about the purchase of property using money from the slush fund. He suggested that such matters should have been dealt with by the JSCI. He cited, among other examples, questions relating to an Inspector-General of Intelligence investigation into reports of the purchase of luxury properties by SAPS's Crime Intelligence.
Ms Kohler-Barnard stated that media allegations about a SAPS Crime Intelligence splurge on luxury hotels appeared in the media on 13 January 2025, before the JSCI was established on 1 April 2025. Several committee members questioned her on this media statement issue and asked if this was not a security breach.
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"That was the first I heard of this. The JSCI did not exist at that stage. All of this happened way before. I have no idea how the information about the hotels came to be in the newspapers," she said.
She further denied that she obtained information on the properties through her position on the JSCI or that she leaked classified information, stating that it would have been impossible for her to do so. Ms Kohler-Barnard also denied knowing the journalist who authored the media report or that she provided the information to that journalist.
She also noted that much of what Lt Gen Mkhwanazi said at his press conference is verifiably true. However, other aspects of his allegations require verification; this ad hoc committee is the correct forum to establish the facts, she said.
Regarding the allegations that the criminal justice system had been infiltrated and corrupted, she cautioned against broad generalisations. Denigrating the entire judicial system is problematic: "One must identify specific issues and deal with them. To condemn every judge, magistrate and official involved is excessive," she said.
Committee Chairperson Mr Molapi Soviet Lekganyane said the committee will meet next week to discuss its programme for the remaining witnesses in order to conclude its work, as stipulated, on 20 February 2026.
Rajaa Azzakani
