National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and Member of Parliament, Fadiel Adams, will remain in custody until next week following the postponement of his bail application by the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
Adams was supposed to apply for bail; however, the State announced it would oppose the application and asked for a postponement to prepare its argument and evidence for its opposition to the bail.
State Prosecutor Advocate Zwelethu Mata initially informed the court that the State did not object to granting Adams bail.
However, due to new information indicating Adams was interfering with State witnesses, the State would now object to his release on bail.
The State also cited Adams’ conduct since the issuing of the warrant for his arrest, saying police had difficulty in finding him, and his media briefing is of concern to the State, where he called himself a fugitive.
“We ask for the postponement of this application. We want to prepare our evidence and arguments to oppose this application. Although we will give detailed reasons for our objections, we can state that the accused has already interfered with State witnesses, which we view in a very serious light,” said Mata.
Adams’ attorney Bruce Hendricks tried to push for the continuation of the bail application, arguing that the State had enough time from the day of arrest of his client and challenged it to present the evidence of his client’s interference with the witnesses.
However, Magistrate Wendalyn Robison said she was bound to listen to and grant the State’s request in the interest of justice in light of the allegations the State has presented.
She then postponed the matter to next Wednesday.
She also ordered that Adams be kept in a secret location, which would only be known to his defence for safety concerns.
Adams was arrested on Tuesday in Cape Town and faces three counts of defeating the ends of justice by allegedly interfering with the murder case of Sindiso Magaqa, who was killed in 2017.
He also faces two counts of fraud in that he presented himself and asked for a police escort, claiming he was on official duty as a member of Parliament, whereas he had not obtained permission from Parliament for his visit.
The State also alleged that he brought in a cellphone and recorded a statement from the two hitmen accused of killing Magaqa. The State argues that he did all that under the disguise that he was on official duty, which was untrue.
The State alleged that 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.
In prison, the State alleges that Adams recorded accused Bonginkosi Dlamini and Sibusiso Ncengwa, who had already been convicted following his confession to pulling the trigger that eventually killed the former ANC Youth League leader and Umzimkhulu Local Municipality councillor.
willem.phungula@inl.co.za
