CAPE TOWN - Fadiel Adams, leader of the National Coloured Congress (NCC), is expected to appear at the Pinetown magistrate’s court on Thursday.
He was arrested on Tuesday in Cape Town and transported to Durban by road over a 24-hour period.
He faces charges of fraud and defeating the ends of justice. KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told the Madlanga Commission that Adams allegedly interfered in a case involving the murder of former ANCYL leader Sindiso Magaqa.
READ: Fadiel Adams' secret location is for his protection - police
On Wednesday, police declined to disclose where Adams was being held.
SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the decision was taken to protect the MP and safeguard the integrity of the process.
READ: Fadiel Adams 'requested' to look into Magaqa murder, says lawyer
It is alleged that Adams travelled to a correctional facility in Port Shepstone without a parliamentary mandate and was escorted by metro police.
Adams told eNCA on Tuesday, before his arrest, that he would not accept a police escort, alleging that SAPS members are “killers”.
His lawyer, Bruce Hendricks, said Adams was “requested” to visit the facility, but could not say by whom, adding that everything would be clarified in court.
Who is Fadiel Adams?
Adams dropped out of Grade 11 and later became involved in gangsterism and drug addiction. After recovering, he worked as a tiler and plumber.
He entered politics in 2018, co-founding Gatvol Capetonian, an organisation aimed at residents frustrated with BEE policies, poor service delivery, and crime.
Political career
In 2020, he founded the Cape Coloured Congress (CCC) and was elected to the Cape Town City Council in the 2021 local government elections.
READ: 'It's silly' - NCC criticise arrest of leader Fadiel Adams
During a Facebook Live session, Adams allegedly made derogatory remarks about City Manager Lungelo Mbandazayo.
The Equality Court later ruled the comments racially offensive, and he was ordered to apologise..
In 2023, the party was renamed the National Coloured Congress (NCC) to contest national elections.
In 2025, the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests found Adams guilty of breaching Parliament’s ethics code after a Facebook video in which he allegedly made derogatory remarks about Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and a DA councillor.
Magaqa murder allegations
In September 2025, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi alleged that Adams interfered in police investigations.
He is accused of accessing a Port Shepstone correctional facility under the guise of a parliamentary mandate, where he allegedly visited an accused killer in the Sindiso Magaqa murder case.
READ: Fadiel Adams arrested
Speaking to eNCA on Tuesday, Adams confirmed he did not have a parliamentary mandate to visit the facility.
He also denied having a police escort, saying instead that he was accompanied by metro police, and accused SAPS of being “killers”.
READ: ‘It’s like a witch hunt, I want to see my husband’ – Adams' wife speaks out
His lawyer maintained that Adams acted on a request, though the source of that request remains unclear.
Mkhwanazi also accused Adams of mishandling classified information restricted to members of Parliament on the Intelligence Committee.
Adams denied this, saying the information “landed on his doorstep” and that he intended to expose wrongdoing.
He also accused suspended National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola of nepotism and laid criminal charges against Masemola, Mkhwanazi, and former Police Minister Bheki Cele.
Arrest timeline
Adams appeared before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee in March, where he said he had spoken to the late Major-General Andre Lincoln of the Anti-Gang Unit about how to handle information that came into his possession.
He later opened a criminal case.
READ: KZN police mum on Fadiel Adams intimidation allegations
On Tuesday, police instructed Adams to hand himself over following a weekend raid on a property believed to be his address.
His lawyer questioned whether a valid arrest warrant existed, writing to both the National and Provincial Police Commissioners.
READ: MP Fadiel Adams claims police wanted to arrest him in Parliament
Adams was ultimately arrested on Tuesday at Parliament Village by members of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), despite indicating he would surrender in Durban on Wednesday.