DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard has been relegated to the back benches of parliament following a racial scandal that has tarnished the party’s image.
Kohler Barnard‚ who occupied a prominent position in the party as the DA’s spokeswoman for police‚ has become an ordinary MP‚ a senior DA insider said.
She has been replaced by her deputy Zakhele Mbhele. The DA released a statement on Saturday indicating changes to the shadow cabinet.
The DA has been in damage-control mode since the scandal broke. Kohler Barnard shared a Facebook post by journalist Paul Kirk in which he claimed education‚ health and the police service were better during the days of apartheid leader PW Botha.
The outspoken MP has since apologised, saying that she had not read the post properly and deleted it immediately when she realised its contents.
A DA insider said: “Mistakes do happen‚ but unfortunately in politics when you make a mistake you have to pay.”
A disciplinary hearing will be scheduled.
Kohler Barnard said she would not put up a fight if the party wanted her to resign.
The ANC had called for her to be fired, saying she was an “apartheid advocate”.
“If the DA is serious about ridding itself of its public reputation as a refuge for racists and white supremacists still longing for the return of apartheid rule‚ it must not merely distance itself from its senior MP’s conduct but expel her from the party and parliament‚” said the ANC chief whip’s spokesman‚ Moloto Mothapo.
DA MP demoted after 'racist' scandal
DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard has been relegated to the back benches of parliament following a racial scandal that has tarnished the party’s image.
Kohler Barnard‚ who occupied a prominent position in the party as the DA’s spokeswoman for police‚ has become an ordinary MP‚ a senior DA insider said.
She has been replaced by her deputy Zakhele Mbhele. The DA released a statement on Saturday indicating changes to the shadow cabinet.
The DA has been in damage-control mode since the scandal broke. Kohler Barnard shared a Facebook post by journalist Paul Kirk in which he claimed education‚ health and the police service were better during the days of apartheid leader PW Botha.
The outspoken MP has since apologised, saying that she had not read the post properly and deleted it immediately when she realised its contents.
A DA insider said: “Mistakes do happen‚ but unfortunately in politics when you make a mistake you have to pay.”
A disciplinary hearing will be scheduled.
Kohler Barnard said she would not put up a fight if the party wanted her to resign.
The ANC had called for her to be fired, saying she was an “apartheid advocate”.
“If the DA is serious about ridding itself of its public reputation as a refuge for racists and white supremacists still longing for the return of apartheid rule‚ it must not merely distance itself from its senior MP’s conduct but expel her from the party and parliament‚” said the ANC chief whip’s spokesman‚ Moloto Mothapo.
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