By Johnathan Paoli
Suspended National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams has revealed that he was willing to “almost close my eyes” to irregularities in the preparation of his affidavits because he wanted cases against senior Crime Intelligence officials to reach court.
Returning to the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Friday for his final day of testimony, Adams made the admission while being questioned about the role played by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) in preparing and strengthening his allegations against crime intelligence officials, including suspended crime intelligence boss Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo.
Commissioner Sandile Khumalo put it to Adams that he knew the conduct of IDAC chief investigator Dylan Perumal and former IDAC head Andrea Johnson was improper when they allegedly sought to bolster his statements after he had already deposed to affidavits.
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Adams said Perumal had arrived at his home and told him that Johnson was unhappy with the supplementary statements he had provided and wanted “more meat” in them.
According to Adams, Perumal then typed additional statements at his home while apparently communicating with Johnson.
Adams said he recognised Johnson’s voice during the conversation, although Perumal’s phone was not on speaker.
The commissioner asked Adams whether he considered the arrangement normal.
“I didn’t think it was normal,” Adams replied.
Khumalo pressed him on why he had not brought the alleged conduct to the attention of Parliament’s ad hoc committee, particularly because the committee was investigating IDAC’s conduct in relation to the very cases Adams was helping to build.
Adams gave a blunt explanation.
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“I will be honest with you, Commissioner. I need IDAC to succeed. I needed these cases before the court,” he said.
Khumalo asked whether this meant Adams was willing to do anything to help IDAC succeed, even if its conduct was improper.
“Not anything, Commissioner, but there are things that I was willing to almost close my eyes to get the end result,” Adams replied.
Adams said he had been eager to get the cases before court and acknowledged that he was willing to “play whatever part” he needed to play.
He also conceded that the process followed by Perumal was not regular, particularly after he was told that the revised statements had to be completed immediately.
“For me, when I said that we can do it next week, I was told no man, it has to be today. I said, ‘okay, let’s just do it. Let’s get it done’. So I do say that that’s not regular. Even for me, who works late hours. But as far as these cases are concerned I was willing to play whatever part I need to,” Adams said.
The admission prompted a broader interrogation from the commission over whether Adams had been an active participant in an effort to strengthen weak cases or had himself been manipulated by others.
Chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga told Adams that the evidence surrounding the alleged envelope of crime intelligence documents left under his door, his haste in opening criminal cases and his movements between Cape Town and Orlando, Soweto, raised serious questions about his role.
Madlanga said the circumstances appeared to point to one of two possibilities: either Adams had been part of a concerted effort to lay the charges for reasons that might not have been connected to a genuine belief that crimes had been committed, or “you were used to achieve this purpose”.
Adams accepted that he may have been used.
“Most of the cases that we have before the court and that are under investigation, we actually don’t know who the sources are. Well, not most of them, some of them. So we are used,” he said.
“Many times, there’s no merit in it. You can receive ten things, and there’s only two things worth reporting. So I do believe I was used. I believe that what I saw was real,” Adams added.
He said that he would respect whatever conclusions were eventually reached by the National Prosecuting Authority and the commission.
Adams claimed crucial allegations concerning the alleged unlawful procurement of a forklift by crime intelligence and expenditure by the Political Killings Task Team had been removed from his version.
Adams also came under pressure over contradictions between his evidence before the commission and a recorded interview with IDAC in early 2025.
In the recording, Adams said he had gone alone to Orlando police station.
But on Friday morning, he admitted before the commission that he had travelled there with a crime intelligence handler known as Witness G or “Elvis”.
Commissioner Sesi Baloyi rejected his explanation that this was an oversight, saying Adams had given a completely different account of how he reached the police station.
Adams eventually accepted that his earlier account that he had gone alone was false.
Adams had initially wanted the recording of his IDAC interview to be played before the commission.
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However, he subsequently asked that it not be played after saying he intended reporting IDAC prosecutor Drushantha Ramsamy to the Legal Practice Council and lay criminal charges against her, Perumal and IDAC for their “mishandling” of the cases.
Adams told the commission that he wanted to obtain the recording through lawful means because of the planned complaint.
Madlanga said Adams will be expected to submit a supplementary statement, including the Section 27 referral he says he signed and had commissioned.
The next witness on the stand is Lieutenant-Colonel Deenadayalan Govender, who is attached to the Serious Organised Crime unit of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (Hawks) and head of their KwaZulu-Natal provincial tracing team.
