National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader Fadiel Adams claims KZN police boss Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi wanted him imprisoned for possessing classified information.
Image: Pando Jikelo / Parliament
Member of Parliament (MP) and National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader Fadiel Adams has accused KZN provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi of disregarding the law.
Adams appeared before Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Wednesday night.
The committee is investigating allegations of criminal infiltration, corruption, and political interference in the justice system.
Mkhwanazi had previously identified Adams as one of two MPs who had access to classified information.
Evidence leader Advocate Maria Mokhoaetsi questioned Adams on his affidavit regarding claims that Mkhwanazi had recommended he be jailed at Pollsmoor Prison, in Tokai, Cape Town, for possessing classified information.
“Yes, Advocate, thank you. It’s such a stigma for people like me to end up in Pollsmoor. But anyway, my opinion is strong,” Adams told the committee.
“I believe General Mkhwanazi is a constitutional delinquent. The man wants me in jail for reporting a crime. He would prefer that I cover up a crime. That’s what he’s saying,” he added.
“Now, I would refer General Mkunazi to the Vuma vs IPID judgment, where it says that you cannot classify crime, and then, if you can't read that one, there's a shorter document, it's called the MIS document. It says the same thing,” Adams said.
He insisted that he was protected by existing legal rulings and policy documents.
“I’m covered by court rulings and the cabinet document. If General Mkhwanazi feels otherwise, then he must come with documents. I’m not here for his opinion,” Adams said.
He added that he did not care about the commissioner’s view of him.
“His opinion of me is very low. And I can tell you it is murdered by the way I feel about him,” Adams said.
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.
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 also told the commission that Adams opened three criminal cases in Cape Town in 2024 and later lodged similar cases in Gauteng.
Adams 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 had manipulated its vetting processes and that money from a classified account had been misused to buy vehicles for the political task team.
Mkhwanazi said Adams had provided no evidence to support the claims and had no official access to detailed financial records from the secret fund, raising concerns about improper access and possible 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 also addressed claims that he had been reckless with sensitive crime intelligence.
He told the committee that he arrived at his office around 6am and found an envelope that appeared to have been slipped under his door.
Adams said he discovered the documents in late October 2024.
He said when he opened the envelope, it contained evidence of criminal activity implicating senior SAPS officials.
“There was one name that I knew,” Adams said, adding that he was initially unsure what to do because he did not have direct access to the minister responsible for intelligence or security matters.
He said after speaking to a close friend, Major-General Andre Lincoln of the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU), who has since died, he decided to open a criminal case with SAPS.
Mokhoaetsi asked Adams why he had not verified the authenticity of the documents or tried to determine where they had come from.
He said that was not his role.
“I am not an investigator. If I had tried to investigate this myself, I might have barked up the wrong tree. I gave it to the experts, the SAPS,” Adams said.
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