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Johannesburg - DA leaders will convene a special meeting to decide what punishment Dianne Kohler Barnard should face. The DA MP pleaded guilty to misconduct and bringing the party into disrepute at a disciplinary hearing on Friday.
Kohler Barnard got into trouble after sharing a Facebook post on crime, which said South Africa was better under apartheid president PW Botha.
Two party sources said Kohler Barnard struck a deal with the DA’s Federal Council on Friday. Her sanction included being stripped of her whip position in Parliament, which meant a drop in her annual salary of R40 000.
She was also fined R20 000 and would have to pay for space to publish apologies in five major newspapers. The former journalist would also have to undergo a training course to learn how the media works.
City Press was told that she would lose her position as deputy provincial party chair in KwaZulu-Natal.
DA Federal Council chair James Selfe said the federal executive was yet to receive the council’s findings and recommended sanctions. The federal executive met yesterday, but no decision was made on Kohler Barnard’s fate, a source close to the party said.
Kohler Barnard referred queries to federal legal council head Glynnis Breytenbach, whose phone was switched off on Saturday.
