No record of Fadiel Adams having problems with his laptop: parliament

Parliament says it has no record of Fadiel Adams’ laptop being reported for a malfunction or for repairs.

This comes after the leader of National Coloured Congress blamed his laptop for failing to respond to the Madlanga commission of inquiry on time, saying it had been troubling him for about 18 months.

Parliament has since released a statement to reject the claims Adams made before the commission.

“Following Mr Adams’ remark, parliament reviewed the ICT service desk records relating to technical support logged for him during the relevant period,” said parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo. “The records do not reflect any reported incident of persistent laptop malfunction, hardware failure, repeated freezing of the device, or the laptop being repeatedly submitted to ICT for repairs.”

Mothapo said the ICT incidents recorded during the period relate primarily to routine user-access and account-support matters.

These included a Windows password reset in January 2025, an ERP/Marang password reset in June 2025, assistance with logging into a device in July 2025, a wi-fi update in January 2026 and an ERP/Marang eDisclosure-related request in June 2026.

“These matters were recorded by parliament’s ICT service desk and were closed.

“Password resets, authentication or login difficulties and connectivity configuration are routine ICT support matters and are materially different from a device being technically dysfunctional or unavailable for an extended period,” he said.

“Parliament therefore has no ICT service desk record supporting the assertion that Mr Adams’ parliamentary laptop was persistently dysfunctional for approximately 18 months in the manner described before the commission.”

Mothapo said it was important to clarify that parliament’s provision of tools to its MPs is not restricted to a single laptop.

He said MPs were issued with several ICT devices, including a laptop, tablet and smartphone, to ensure continued access and to allow them to carry out their parliamentary duties.

According to Mothapo, MPs who experience technical problems with any of their allocated devices can use established ICT support channels to have the issue logged, assessed and resolved.

He added that parliament-issued alternative devices are available to ensure that MPs maintain access while a faulty device is being attended to.

Mothapo stressed that parliament’s clarification was limited to its ICT and administrative records and should not be interpreted as a comment on the substance of Adams’ evidence to the commission.

Earlier, commission chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga told Adams that his excuse was “totally unbelievable” and urged him to take the commission seriously.

Sowetan