By Johnathan Paoli
Madlanga Commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga has slammed suspended National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams over his explanation for failing to submit a witness statement for more than 10 months, saying his claim that a “problematic laptop” prevented him from responding was “totally unbelievable”.
Adams is serving a 20-parliamentary-day suspension from debates and committee meetings after Parliament found that he breached its ethics code by publishing the personal contact details of a DA staff member in a Facebook post.
Appearing before the commission on Tuesday, Adams’ testimony was postponed to 19 August after his witness statement was only submitted after 9pm on Monday, despite him having first been served with a Rule 3 notice in October 2025.
ALSO READ: Fadiel Adams testimony before Madlanga Commission likely to be postponed
Adams blamed the delay on a laptop which he said had repeatedly frozen and required regular repairs by Parliament’s IT department.
“Parliament can confirm that I have a very problematic laptop. My laptop is either in for repairs or frozen,” Adams said.
He said he had only become aware of the Rule 3 notice requiring his statement about three or four months ago.
Madlanga immediately questioned how Adams could perform his duties as a parliamentarian if he was unable to reliably receive and respond to electronic communications.
“I do not believe it. This should mean that you cannot function at Parliament as a parliamentarian. And it also suggests that you are not even taking the people that you are supposed to serve seriously,” Madlanga said.
When asked how he was able to function in Parliament, Adams said he often had “to walk to people for information or call up for information”.
Madlanga asked whether Adams was similarly unable to receive official communication from Parliament.
The exchange ultimately led to an even more pointed rebuke from the commission chair.
ALSO READ: Police sound alarm on political crime before local elections
“I’m not concerned about anything else. I’m concerned about October to today, for you to only give to the Commission communication or rather your statement, which was required from October of last year, for you to only give that statement to the Commission after 9pm last night,” Madlanga said.
Adams conceded there was no further excuse for the delay, saying that he had been given 11 August as his testimony date and had asked for more time because of voter registration duties.
He said he had “moved heaven and earth” and “sat up nights” to complete the statement before the deadline, but had been unable to do so.
Madlanga, however, told Adams that the explanations he had given were not credible.
“What I will say, and I will stop here, what I will say is it seems to me that you are not taking this commission seriously. And starting from now and going forward, you should not treat this commission the way you have thus far. Because everything you’ve said thus far is just totally unbelievable,” the chair said.
The allegations surrounding Adams centre on his alleged access to and handling of sensitive Crime Intelligence information and his role in triggering an investigation into senior intelligence officials.
Adams’ 2024 Section 27 referral to the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) contained allegations of corruption involving Crime Intelligence and the alleged abuse of the Secret Services Account.
The resulting IDAC investigations later encompassed matters including the appointment of Brigadier Dineo Mokwele and allegations involving Crime Intelligence chief financial officer Major-General Philani Lushaba.
The commission has since raised questions over how far IDAC’s investigation expanded beyond the allegations originally made by Adams.
The investigation eventually led to the arrest of Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo and six co-accused.
ALSO READ: ANC mourns death of Gauteng spokesperson Mzi Khumalo
However, the fraud and corruption charges against Khumalo and the other accused were provisionally withdrawn by the NPA on 27 July after representations were made in the case. The investigation had not been finalised, and the matter can only be re-enrolled with the written approval of the National Director of Public Prosecutions.
The commission has also heard allegations that Adams had access to classified or sensitive intelligence documents that he should not have possessed and that information supplied by him was used in IDAC investigations.
Evidence has further raised questions over the circumstances in which IDAC obtained Adams’ affidavit.
The commission has heard evidence that IDAC investigator Dylan Perumal solicited the referral from Adams, while former IDAC head Andrea Johnson later conceded that the circumstances in which the affidavit was obtained raised legal questions.
Separately, the NPA is prosecuting Adams on three counts of fraud and two counts of defeating the administration of justice, alleging that he misrepresented his status when visiting awaiting-trial prisoners at Westville Correctional Centre and conducted interviews without authorisation from the relevant investigating teams or the prisoners’ legal representatives.
The commission ultimately postponed Adams’ testimony after evidence leader advocate Matthew Chaskalson explained that it was impossible for the commissioners and evidence team to prepare adequately after receiving the statement so late.
The commission continues with the testimony of IDAC advocate Drushantha Ramsamy.
