National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and MP Fadiel Adams claimed that a powerful network inside the SA Police Service (SAPS) is undermining the justice system.
Adams made the claims while appearing before parliament’s ad hoc committee investigating allegations of criminal infiltration, corruption and political interference within law enforcement structures.
Returning to the committee for further questioning, Adams said the problems within the SAPS extended to the highest levels of leadership.
“At the top of the police, there is a cabal so corrupt that it threatens everyone,” he told MPs.
The inquiry is examining events surrounding the arrest of crime intelligence head Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo and several other senior officials by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac). Khumalo was arrested on allegations of corruption and fraud after criminal complaints Adams opened with police.
Adams told MPs the cases stemmed from information he received suggesting wrongdoing within crime intelligence. The material, he said, came in documents anonymously delivered to his parliamentary office.
In his affidavit, Adams said he arrived at his office in late October 2024 and found an envelope that appeared to have been slipped under the door. The documents inside appeared to contain evidence of criminal activity involving senior crime intelligence officers.
He told the committee he was unsure how to deal with the documents and was concerned they might be fraudulent or classified. Adams said he decided the appropriate step was to report the matter to law enforcement authorities so it could be investigated formally.
He subsequently opened cases at police stations in the Western Cape and Gauteng before approaching Idac. The inspector-general of intelligence, Imtiaz Fazel, later contacted him and he handed over the documents.
Adams also addressed the disbandment of the political killings task team (PKTT), saying while he initially supported suspended police minister Senzo Mchunu’s decision, the minister may have overreached by failing to consult relevant structures.
Responding to a question from ANC MP Khusela Diko, Adams said: “I think the minister may have overreached. I think he should have discussed it with the inter-ministerial committee, which I didn’t think of at the time. But I’m willing to concede that because I was in full support of the minister. However, there was no disagreement on the disbandment of the PKTT.”
Much of the questioning during the session centred on Adams’ handling of the information. However, he also criticised the circumstances surrounding KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s media briefing in July last year.
Adams told MPs the briefing, in which Mkhwanazi appeared in camouflage attire and flanked by heavily armed officers, was intended as a display of power rather than an attempt to expose wrongdoing.
“That press conference was a show of force,” Adams said.
He said Mkhwanazi had indicated the briefing was necessary because national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola “was at the gates of prison”.
The comments drew reactions from members of the committee.
ActionSA MP Dereleen James said many South Africans had welcomed Mkhwanazi’s intervention and asked Adams whether he saw any value in the commissioner’s actions.
Adams rejected the view.
“I find no value in what he did,” he said.
He also challenged the portrayal of Mkhwanazi as a strong law enforcement figure.
“He is no hero,” Adams told MPs, saying police shootings in KwaZulu-Natal had resulted in more deaths than in any other province.
Adams also questioned the motives behind Mkhwanazi’s July press conference, telling the committee the explanation given by the provincial commissioner raised serious concerns.
“What was the reason for the July 6 press conference? It was, according to Mkhwanazi himself, because the national commissioner was at the gates of prison,” Adams said.
“It was to defeat the ends of justice if he was telling the truth. This is what I’m saying. It’s about the capture of the SAPS. It had nothing to do with the PKTT. The PKTT had been agreed on in the portfolio in front of all of us that it was no longer necessary.”
Acting deputy national commissioner for crime detection Lt-Gen Hilda Senthumule told MPs dockets linked to the complaints had been found in the safe of a senior officer rather than with investigators, which she confirmed was not standard procedure.
Adams said the development reinforced his concern that the cases may have been suppressed.
During the proceedings EFF leader Julius Malema defended Adams, saying he had acted appropriately by reporting the information to police.
Malema told the committee Adams had done nothing wrong by reporting information he had received anonymously.
“Where you are seated, you must know there’s nothing wrong you have done. No one must ever try to tell you nonsense,” Malema said.
“You come across information, you go to the police, and what the police do with it is none of your business.”
Malema said anyone who becomes aware of wrongdoing has a responsibility to report it, regardless of who may be implicated.
“You have reported it to the authorities, that’s how it works,” he said.
“You come across nonsense, you report it to the police. It doesn’t matter who is being implicated in the nonsense. There are no holy cows here.”
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