Fadiel Adams criticises KwaZulu-Natal SAPS heads during Madlanga Commission

MP Fadiel Adams made alarming allegations of budget misuse and nepotism in SAPS' Crime Intelligence Unit during his testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry yesterday.

National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader and MP Fadiel Adams took aim at KwaZulu-Natal SAPS head Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and Crime Intelligence head Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo during his testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry yesterday.

He also alleged that Crime Intelligence’s multimillion-rand budget has been run as a slush fund for patronage since the early 2000s, with contracts and appointments given to friends and family.

He testified that he did not have a relationship with Mkhwanazi, but he held him in high regard.

However, he said watching Mkhwanazi’s media briefing on July 6, 2025, left him wondering if he was planning a possible coup.

He addressed Mkhwanazi’s allegation that the NCC and he were “hired guns for criminal cartels”.

Adams said: “When Lieutenant Mkhwanazi claims that the NCC or I are hired guns for criminal cartels, the various cases opened by the NCC members and myself have been aimed at exposing alleged fraud and corruption and recovering allegedly stolen funds from the State coffers.

“So, for me to be labelled a hired gun or a conduit for cartel, whatever it is that is going on in General Mkhwanzi’s head, I take offence to it.”

He criticised Khumalo, who doubles as the head of Political Killings Task Team (PKTT), saying the misuse of the Crime Intelligence funds continued under his leadership.

Adams told the commission that the misuse of the unit’s budget began during the tenure of former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli in early 2000s.

He told the commission that Crime Intelligence under Mdluli “operated on a nepotistic basis, involving jobs for friends and family, and at times functioned more like a glorified employment agency”.

Adams testified that the Crime Intelligence deteriorated significantly during the period associated with the late and former SAPS national commissioner Jackie Selebi, saying he held the view that the deterioration was not accidental.

He expressed concern that the independence of policing structures is being compromised by Khumalo’s dual responsibility as the head of both Crime Intelligence and PKTT, saying it creates an opportunity for abuse of process.

“Likewise, Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi is the head of Organised Crime and the provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal. In my view, the duality of these roles compromises investigative independence and creates an opportunity for abuse of process.”