BAIL DENIED, LOCATION SECRET: FADIEL ADAMS HELD OVER MAGAQA WITNESS INTERFERENCE CLAIMS
- Mpho Dube
- 21 minutes ago
- 2 min read
NCC leader to stay in custody after State alleges he interfered with witnesses in 2017 Sindiso Magaqa murder case. Court orders secret detention for safety
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
PINETOWN– National Coloured Congress leader and MP Fadiel Adams will remain behind bars until next week after the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court halted his bail application over explosive claims of witness interference.
Magistrate Wendalyn Robison postponed the bail hearing to next Wednesday and ordered Adams be held in a secret location known only to his defence team.
The court cited safety concerns and the State’s allegation that Adams has already interfered with witnesses in the 2017 murder case of ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa.
The decision is a sharp reversal. State Prosecutor Advocate Zwelethu Mata initially told the court the State did not oppose bail. That changed when “new information” emerged.
“We ask for the postponement of this application. We want to prepare our evidence and arguments to oppose this application,” Mata told the court. “The accused has already interfered with State witnesses, which we view in a very serious light.”
The State also raised Adams’ conduct since the arrest warrant was issued. Prosecutors said police struggled to locate him and flagged a media briefing where Adams referred to himself as a “fugitive.”
Adams’ attorney Bruce Hendricks pushed for the bail hearing to continue, arguing the State had enough time since the arrest to present evidence. The magistrate disagreed, ruling the State’s request should be granted “in the interest of justice.”
Adams was arrested Tuesday in Cape Town. He faces three counts of defeating the ends of justice for allegedly interfering with the Magaqa murder case. He also faces two counts of fraud.
According to the State, Adams posed as an MP on official duty to gain a police escort and access to Westville Correctional Facility in 2024. He allegedly recorded statements from convicted hitmen Bonginkosi Dlamini and Sibusiso Ncengwa while they were still part of an active investigation.
The State alleges Adams used blue lights to gain entry and filmed the men under false pretences. One of those men, Ncengwa, had already confessed to pulling the trigger in Magaqa’s killing.
Magaqa, a former ANC Youth League leader and Umzimkhulu councillor, was shot dead in 2017. The case has been marked by delays, intimidation claims, and political fallout for years.
Adams remains in a secret location until the bail hearing resumes next Wednesday. The State says it will present detailed evidence of witness interference at that hearing.
For now, the NCC leader stays in custody, and the court has made clear it takes the allegations seriously.
AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact
Developing. We are tracking the State’s evidence and Adams’ defence response ahead of next week’s hearing.
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