National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Fadiel Adams has conceded that he was untruthful when he told the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that he had only seen correspondence from the commission about three months ago.
Adams made the admission on Wednesday after Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga repeatedly challenged his version of events and referred him to correspondence showing that he had responded to a Rule 3 notice in October 2025.
Madlanga pointed out that Adams had responded to an email from the commission on October 14 2025, just 11 days after it was sent.
In the email, Adams requested permission to make his submissions 72 hours after Crime Intelligence boss General Dumasani Khumalo’s testimony.
READ: Oops! Parliament has no record of Fadiel Adams’ broken laptop
“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,” said Madlanga.
Adams initially explained that he had been out of the province and experiencing problems with his parliamentary laptop. He said he had eventually gone to Parliament, where the laptop was repaired, before responding to the commission.
He acknowledged that his recollection of the correspondence had been confused.
“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.”
However, Madlanga returned to the central question and asked Adams whether his statement on August 11 that he had only seen the October 2025 communication three months earlier had been untruthful.
Adams eventually conceded.
“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 then turned to comments Adams made in a media interview before his appearance before the inquiry in August.
In the interview, Adams claimed he had provided the media with proof that his parliamentary laptop had malfunctioned, which he had cited as an explanation for failing to receive or see correspondence from the commission.
A video of the interview was played before the commission.
Madlanga questioned Adams about the nature of the alleged proof. Adams referred to an incident in Parliament when he had used another MP’s laptop because his own computer was freezing.
READ: Fadiel Adams’ laptop explanation fails to convince Madlanga Commission
“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,” asked Madlanga.
“Yes, chairperson. That’s all,” Adams responded.
‘You lied, basically’
“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 rejected the conclusion.
“Chairperson, I was not. I was not. I cannot accept that,” said Adams.
But after Madlanga clarified that he was referring specifically to the proof Adams claimed to have provided to the media, Adams 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 responded.
- NCC leader and MP Fadiel Adams admitted to being untruthful about only seeing the Madlanga Commission's correspondence three months ago.
- Justice Madlanga presented evidence that Adams had responded to the commission's Rule 3 notice in October 2025.
- Adams initially blamed his delayed response on being out of the province and laptop issues but later acknowledged his confusion.
- Adams conceded that his earlier statement about the timing of the email communication was incorrect and untruthful.
- Adams admitted he had no proof of laptop malfunction beyond using another MP’s laptop once, contradicting his earlier media claims.
National Coloured
Adams made the admission on Wednesday after Justice
In the email, Adams requested permission to make his submissions 72 hours after Crime Intelligence boss General Dumasani
READ: Oops! Parliament has no record of Fadiel Adams' broken laptop
"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," said
Adams initially explained that he had been out of the province and experiencing problems with his parliamentary laptop. He said he had eventually gone to Parliament, where the laptop was repaired, before responding to the commission.
He acknowledged that his recollection of the correspondence had been confused.
"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."
However,
Adams eventually conceded.
"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."
In the interview, Adams claimed he had provided the media with proof that his parliamentary laptop had malfunctioned, which he had cited as an explanation for failing to receive or see correspondence from the commission.
A video of the interview was played before the commission.
READ: Fadiel Adams’ laptop explanation fails to convince
"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," asked
"Yes, chairperson.
"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 rejected the conclusion.
"Chairperson, I was not. I was not. I cannot accept that," said Adams.
But after
"If, in the opinion of Justice
