NCC leader Fadiel Adams inside a police van after his arrest on Tuesday.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Media
The National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and a member of Parliament, Fadiel Adams, is expected to appear in Pinetown Magistrate's Court in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday morning.
Adams was arrested on Tuesday in Cape Town and faces charges of defeating the ends of justice for allegedly interfering with Sindiso Magaqa’s murder case, who was killed in 2017.
Adams was expected to appear in court on Wednesday; however, it emerged that police drove with him to KwaZulu-Natal on Tuesday and had to sleep midway to take a rest and continue with the journey on Wednesday.
He arrived in Durban on Wednesday evening and, according to police sources, was kept in a police cell at the Durban Central police station, not at the Westville Prison as was expected.
On Wednesday, Adams’ attorney Bruce Hendricks confirmed that his client will appear in the Pinetown Magistrate's Court. He also confirmed that he would be in court too, as he left Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon.
In court, Adams is expected to face a charge of defeating the ends of justice emanating from his visit to the suspected hitman, Sibusiso Ncengwa, in the Magaqa murder.
In 2024, Adams flew to Durban and was allegedly whisked away with blue lights by police to the Westville Correctional Facility to meet the accused. Police say the visit took place while they were still investigating the matter.
Police are questioning his interest in doing so and accused him of interfering with the investigation. They also have an issue with a police escort; however, Adams defended the escort, arguing that he deserved it as he was on official duty as a member of Parliament.
Adams also defended his meeting with Ncengwa, arguing that he came to interview him because the police were delaying their investigation.
However, a high-profile police source, who is involved in his arrest, said the reason for Adams’s visit was to influence the suspect to implicate the Crime Intelligence boss Major-General Dumisani Khumalo.
The source said Adams is working with other senior Crime Intelligence officials to get rid of Khumalo, adding that those Crime Intelligence officials are working for drug cartels.
He said the real interest of Adams in all this and how he was hoping to benefit from manipulating the hitman’s confession would be exposed soon.
Adams’ attorney Hendricks did not respond to the allegations levelled against his client.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za