Dianne Kohler-Barnard pleads guilty
Cape Town - Former Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister for police Dianne Kohler-Barnard has pleaded guilty to various internal disciplinary charges regarding a controversial social media post.
“It was a plea and settlement agreement where she makes admissions and the prosecution and defence get together to discuss an appropriate sentence,” DA MP and chair of the party’s federal legal commission Glynnis Breytenbach said on Friday.
Breytenbach said a recommendation by the panel on the appropriate settlement would be sent to the federal executive for consideration. It was not known when the executive would make a decision.
She would not say what disciplinary action was recommended following the hearing, which spanned Friday morning and was closed to the public and journalists.
Kohler-Barnard pleaded guilty to misconduct, bringing the party into disrepute and not abiding by the party’s social media policy. She had courted controversy last week when she shared a Facebook post from journalist Paul Kirk, praising former apartheid president PW Botha.