MP and National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader, Fadiel Adams is set to appear before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Wednesday as he faces allegations that he improperly accessed and shared classified police intelligence
Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers
Member of Parliament (MPS) and leader of the National Coloured Congress (NCC), Fadiel Adams, is testifying before an ad hoc committee on Wednesday morning over allegations that he interfered in police operations.
The committee was established to investigate claims made by KZN provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi during an explosive media briefing in July last year.
MPs are expected to question Adams about allegations that he improperly accessed and handled classified police intelligence.
In September last year, Mkhwanazi told the Madlanga Commission in Pretoria that Adams had gained access to crime intelligence intended exclusively for vetted members of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, which oversees the country’s intelligence services.
However, Adams is not a member of that committee.
According to Mkhwanazi, Adams used his position to obtain sensitive information and handled it “recklessly”, including sharing it publicly.
The commissioner said Adams’ actions had a direct impact on the work of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Political Task Team (PKTT), potentially compromising ongoing investigations.
Mkhwanazi told the commission that Adams opened three criminal cases in Cape Town in 2024 and later lodged similar cases in Gauteng.
He also sent an email to the now suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu complaining about police conduct.
However, Mkhwanazi argued that the complaints lacked substantive criminal elements and instead focused on internal SAPS vetting procedures - matters Adams was not authorised to access because of their classified nature.
The intelligence in question included unverified allegations that SAPS was manipulating its vetting processes and that money from a classified account was being misused to buy vehicles for the political task team.
Mkhwanazi said Adams had provided no evidence to substantiate the claims and had no official access to detailed financial records of the secret fund, raising concerns about improper access and political interference.
“These are classified matters. Adams’ allegations are based on incomplete information and are being assessed through formal criminal investigations,” Mkhwanazi said.
Meanwhile, Adams has previously rejected the allegations.
He said the documents referred to by Mkhwanazi were slipped under his office door and that he read them several times because their contents were “unbelievable”.
“I decided that there is a case of criminality, so I took it to the nearest police station,” Adams said.
“If General Mkhwanazi believes there is toxic crime in this country, then he must step forward and say so. This country is tired of crime. It doesn’t matter who is committing it - whether it is a police general or the president,” he previously told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
Adams said he had been an MP for only three months when he received the information and was unsure of the correct parliamentary channel to follow, prompting him to report the matter to police rather than to the intelligence committee.
“If Mkhwanazi believes I need to be arrested, then he must lay the charge,” Adams said.
“But he must explain why he appears so determined to reduce allegations of nearly R1 billion in fraud and corruption to an HR matter. Is it because he is friends with one of the accused?”
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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