A senior Democratic Alliance MP, Dianne Kohler Barnard, has been accused of unlawfully leaking classified Crime Intelligence information that allegedly contributed to the exposure of a police safe house from which highly sensitive corruption investigations were being conducted. She strongly denies the accusation.

The accusation was made by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who is currently testifying on alleged police corruption.

Testifying before the Madlanga Commission and later in Parliament, Mkhwanazi said: “The honourable member forgets that she took an oath before South Africans in Parliament not to divulge the secrets of government.” He claimed that the information Kohler Barnard allegedly leaked compromised a secure safe house used by elite officers investigating high-level corruption cases.

Mkhwanazi told MPs that he now fears for the safety of the members who worked from that location.