The DA is consulting its legal team on possible action against ANC Chief Whip Stone Sizani, DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Kohler-Barnard was on Wednesday cleared of breaching confidentiality related to misconduct hearings against former communications minister Dina Pule.<\/p>\n
The investigation, by Parliament’s ethics committee, followed public statements by Sizani that the DA MP violated her oath of confidentiality by posting updates on Facebook during the hearings.<\/p>\n
The parliamentary code of conduct enjoins all MPs and staff serving on the committee to take an oath of confidentiality.<\/p>\n
“The Democratic Alliance is today discussing with legal representatives what legal action should be taken against Mr Sizani for this defamatory attack on my character,” Kohler-Barnard said.<\/p>\n
The ANC said the information was published in The Post in August, an allegation the newspaper later denied.<\/p>\n
“I have the maximum 5000 friends on Facebook, many of whom are journalists, and as there was never a word about the hearings on my page, nothing was ever published or broadcast on radio or television,” Kohler-Barnard said.<\/p>\n
“I consider Mr Sizani’s comments to have been libellous and a vicious personal attack on my integrity and ethical behaviour.”<\/p>\n
In its ruling on Wednesday, the ethics committee said: “[We] considered the matter and dismissed the allegations against Ms Kohler-Barnard.”<\/p>\n
The DA MP was on the committee which recommended that Pule be suspended by Parliament for the scandal that saw her boyfriend benefit from state funding.<\/p>\n
Pule: \u201cI gave my best, I\u2019m sorry\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Pule implicated in assassination plan: report<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n