KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has called for an investigation into DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard for allegedly leaking classified crime intelligence information.
Mkhwanazi told the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on Wednesday that Kohler-Barnard revealed pictures of safe houses where the counter-intelligence investigation team in Gauteng are operating from, saying this raised safety concerns.
“Their working place is compromised. The members that are operating the driving vehicles, those vehicles have been exposed in public. And I believe to some degree maybe even the names of the members might be known, and their safety for me is a concern.
“They can’t go home. If they go home they go with the entire delegation of police officers protecting them. Their lives are disrupted and their families, I don’t think they are protected either,” said Mkhwanazi.
Revealed houses, addresses
He said Kohler-Barnard revealed the images in a statement revealing the exact house, address and other sensitive information. Mkhwanazi believes this is the work of intelligence members that were against the work that is being done.
Mkhwanazi admitted that what Kohler-Barnard did would be considered a criminal offence. Also that authorities would investigate the matter.
He told the committee that it is not known whether she took the images herself. But it is well-known that she circulated the residences
“I call for an investigation by state security on these leakages of information to the media. The amounts of things I spoke of yesterday. For specific journalists that keep writing about these things.
“Including the members of this parliament and members within crime intelligence. As well as inspector general of intelligence,” said Mkhwanazi.
Kohler-Barnard released a statement and wrote to Inspector General of Intelligence Imtiaz Fazel on February 17. She was alleging that crime intelligence was spending more than they should for commercial properties between October 2024.
Detailed prices of said properties
She said Crime Intelligence bought a multi-million rand boutique hotel in Pretoria North. It spent R22.8-million for another property in Durban, she added.
“It is further highly concerning that it seems that we have managed to track down the estate agent’s listing of the property in question. With an asking price of R9.5-million – some R13-million less than the eventual purchase price. If this is indeed the case, and Crime Intelligence has spent almost triple the asking price for the property, it warrants an investigation by your office, on its every face,” reads the letter.
Mkhwanazi said the Gauteng team has grown bigger, with junior members joining in. And other 10 members from KZN joining. He said he worries more about these members than the political killings task team.
He said the political killings task team was safe with him as its leader. But the safety of the Gauteng team was not guaranteed.
Mkhwanazi explained that the Gauteng team should be under the leadership of crime intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo. But he has since been banned from entering crime intelligence premises following his arrest.
Khumalo arrest was a set-up
He earlier revealed he considers Khumalo’s arrest by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) as a pre-planned move to destabilise the Gauteng investigations.
Following similar allegations at the Madlanga commission, Kohler-Barnard addressed the claims. She said: “For it to be suggested by general Mkhwanazi that I was somehow part of a criminal syndicate, is absurd.
“The general Mkhwanazi told the Judicial Commissioners that they could Google my statement. But in the same light a few minutes of research on Google would have shown that the initial reports of the two properties appeared in the media. That I reacted to those reports and that the JSCI was only sworn in over two months later.”
