Parliament has disputed claims by National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams that persistent problems with his Parliament, issued laptop affected his ability to access correspondence from the Madlanga Commission for approximately 18 months.
Adams made the claims during his appearance before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday, 11 August where he attributed delays in accessing correspondence from the Commission partly to problems with his parliamentary laptop.
According to Parliament, Adams told the Commission that his laptop had frequently frozen, had been problematic for about 18 months and had repeatedly been sent for repairs.
Parliament has now reviewed its ICT Service Desk records and says those records do not support the claim of a persistently dysfunctional laptop.
“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,” Parliament said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Instead, the institution said the ICT incidents recorded for Adams during the relevant period were primarily 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.
Parliament said all of these matters were logged through its ICT Service Desk and subsequently closed.
It also drew a distinction between these incidents and a laptop being technically defective or unavailable for an extended period.
“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,” Parliament said.
It said there is no ICT Service Desk record supporting Adams’ assertion that his parliamentary laptop was persistently dysfunctional for approximately 18 months.
Parliament also sought to address the suggestion that a faulty laptop could have left Adams without access to the tools required to perform his parliamentary duties.
It said MPs are not issued with only one ICT device.
According to Parliament, members receive a laptop, tablet and smartphone to support continuity of access to parliamentary systems and information.
The institution said alternative Parliament, issued devices are intended to ensure that members can continue working when one device requires technical attention.
“Where a Member experiences a technical problem with an allocated device, established ICT support channels are available for the incident to be logged, diagnosed and resolved,” Parliament said.
The statement comes after Adams’ testimony before the Madlanga Commission attracted significant attention, particularly around his allegations and explanations concerning correspondence and information connected to his evidence.
Parliament, however, stressed that its intervention should not be interpreted as a comment on the substance of Adams’ testimony.
“Parliament’s clarification is confined to its own ICT and administrative records and should not be construed as commenting on the substance of Mr Adams’ evidence before the Commission, which remains a matter for the Commission,” it said.
The Commission is investigating allegations relating to criminality, corruption and political interference within South Africa’s criminal justice system.
Adams has previously been linked to allegations concerning the Political Killings Task Team and its handling of public funds, and his appearance before the Commission was expected to shed further light on information he had previously provided to investigators.
Parliament’s intervention introduces a separate factual dispute into the proceedings, whether Adams’ access to Commission correspondence was materially affected by problems with his parliamentary equipment.
The Commission will ultimately determine what weight to attach to Adams’ explanation and Parliament’s records.
For now, Parliament’s position is clear, its ICT records do not substantiate the claim that Adams’ parliamentary laptop was persistently dysfunctional for approximately 18 months.
