National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Fadiel Adams has admitted that he was not truthful when he told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that he had only seen correspondence from the commission about three months earlier.
Adams made the concession on Wednesday after Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga repeatedly questioned his account and referred him to correspondence showing that he had responded to a Rule 3 notice in October 2025.
Madlanga noted that Adams had replied to an email from the commission on October 14, 2025, just 11 days after it was sent.
In his response, Adams asked to be allowed to make his submissions 72 hours after Crime Intelligence boss General Dumasani Khumalo had given his testimony.
“You were not truthful when you said you received notice, or you only saw the email communication three months ago. Am I correct? You are not truthful,” Madlanga said.
Adams initially attributed the discrepancy to being out of the province and experiencing technical problems with his parliamentary laptop.
He said he eventually went to Parliament, where the device was repaired, after which he responded to the commission.
Adams acknowledged that he had become confused about the correspondence and his previous responses.
“I will admit to a person that all this confusion regarding the emails and my correspondence is entirely my fault. I could have done better, and I should have done better.”
Madlanga, however, returned to the issue and asked Adams directly whether his statement on August 11 that he had only seen the October 2025 communication three months earlier was untruthful.
Adams eventually acknowledged that it was.
“Now that I have all the emails, even my response in front of me, yes, the information I submitted was wrong. It was untruthful. Yes, chairperson.”
‘You say you have given the media proof’
The commission also questioned Adams about comments he made during a media interview before his appearance at the inquiry in August.
During the interview, Adams claimed he had given the media proof that his parliamentary laptop had malfunctioned, which he had cited as the reason he failed to receive or see correspondence from the commission.
A recording of the interview was played to the commission.
Madlanga then asked Adams what he meant when he referred to having provided proof.
Adams pointed to an incident in Parliament when he had used another MP’s laptop because his own device kept freezing.
“You say you have given the media proof. So, the proof that you said you had given to the media was just this one instance of you using another member’s laptop,” Madlanga asked.
“Yes, chairperson. That’s all,” Adams replied.
‘You lied, basically’
Madlanga then questioned Adams about the implications of his claim.
“So what should we make of what you said, then? You lied, basically. When you said you have proof, in the context of October 2025, until three months ago, in that interview, you basically told a lie when you said you had proof.”
Adams initially disagreed with Madlanga’s conclusion.
“Chairperson, I was not. I was not. I cannot accept that,” he said.
Madlanga clarified that he was referring specifically to the evidence Adams claimed to have provided to the media.
Adams then conceded the point.
“If, in the opinion of Justice Madlanga, that is not proof, I can only concede it. I can’t win a legal argument with a man like you,” Adams said.
