National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams. Brenton Geach/Gallo Images
JOHANNESBURG - Al Jama-ah has condemned what they described as the heavy-handed treatment of Fadiel Adams.
Adams, the leader of the National Coloured Congress, was arrested in Cape Town this week.
Al Jama-ah secretary general, Faried Achmat, said while they note that the legal process must take its course, the treatment Adams received seemed "excessive, degrading, and cannot be justified".
“South Africans are painfully familiar with the use of state power in a manner that seeks to break a person before justice has taken its course.
“The treatment of Adams evokes troubling memories of apartheid-era methods where force and public degradation were used to instill fear and assert power,”
Achmat said justice must never become a tool of humiliation.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said Adams was driven to KZN, and during that time, he was afforded regular stops and was not transported through the night but rather stayed over in a nearby town.
“He was given his eight-hour rest, booked into a local police station, and he was fed and received breakfast, lunch, and supper. He has been well taken care of,” Mathe added.
Adams arrived in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday night, where he was formally charged with fraud and defeating and or obstructing the course of justice.
He was arrested on Tuesday by the SAPS Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) at the Pelican Park Parliamentary Village in Cape Town.
It is alleged that he interfered with ongoing investigations into the murder of the late ANC Youth League Leader, Sindiso Magaqa.