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By Palesa Matlala
- National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams admitted lying to the Madlanga Commission about emails before apologising to Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
- Adams then accused KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi of protecting businessman Timmy Marimuthu, without presenting any evidence to the commission.
Fadiel Adams walked into the Madlanga Commission on Wednesday ready to testify, but first had to admit he had not told the truth.
The National Coloured Congress MP apologised after Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga confronted him with emails contradicting his earlier account. Adams had told the commission during his 11 August appearance that his parliamentary laptop had not worked for about 18 months, preventing him from responding to its correspondence.
Parliament disputed this, saying it had no record of the laptop fault and that MPs are issued several devices. The commission then produced an email sent to Adams on 3 October 2025, which he answered on 14 October, contradicting his account of when he first saw the correspondence.
“I apologise chair and to the commission,” Adams said. Madlanga made clear that misleading the commission was a serious matter.
It was after this exchange, with his credibility already in question, that Adams made his most serious claims. He said classified Crime Intelligence documents had been pushed under his Cape Town office door in late October, which he later used to lay a criminal complaint against Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo.
Adams then accused Mkhwanazi of protecting Durban businessman Timmy Marimuthu, who he described as a known criminal.
“He should, perhaps, explain to this commission if he is, in fact, the conduit for Timmy Marimuthu,” Adams said.
He also claimed Mkhwanazi interfered in Marimuthu’s arrest, and questioned the role of Marimuthu’s wife, whom he said is a police colonel in Crime Intelligence.
Adams did not present evidence to support any of these claims.
He is separately facing fraud charges over claims he misrepresented himself to access prison inmates linked to political murder cases, and was previously suspended from Parliament for 20 days over an ethics breach.
His testimony continues.
Pictured above: National Coloured Congress Member of Parliament Fadiel Adams testifying before the Madlanga Commission.
Image source: File.
