Police Commissioner Accuses MP Fadiel Adams of Leaking Classified Intelligence

When Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, stood before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry on September 18, 2025, he didn’t just testify—he dropped a bombshell. Accusing Fadiel Adams, the parliamentary leader of the National Coloured Congress, of illegally accessing and weaponizing top-secret police intelligence, Mkhwanazi’s testimony has ignited a firestorm in South Africa’s political and law enforcement corridors. The documents in question? Classified reports on alleged manipulation of SAPS vetting procedures. The fallout? Arrests, counter-accusations, and a constitutional showdown over who gets to see what—and when.

How a Parliamentarian Got Access to Secrets He Wasn’t Authorized to See

Mkhwanazi’s core allegation is straightforward: Adams, while serving on the Portfolio Committee on Police, obtained intelligence meant solely for the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence—a body Adams does not belong to. Under South Africa’s Intelligence Services Oversight Act of 1994, only members of that 15-person joint committee are legally cleared to handle classified Crime Intelligence materials. Adams, as a member of the 35-person Police Committee, has no such clearance. Yet, Mkhwanazi claims Adams received unverified, sensitive reports suggesting SAPS officers were rigging background checks for promotions. "It is information that is intended for another structure of parliament," Mkhwanazi told the commission. "If such information comes to him, he ought to know that it must be handed over." What happened next is where things turned dangerous. Adams didn’t hand the documents over. Instead, he used them to file criminal charges against three Crime Intelligence officers, including Dumisani Khumalo, the Head of Crime Intelligence. Khumalo and two others were arrested in June 2025 and later released on bail, according to records from the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court. No formal charges were ever laid. No trial followed. Just arrests—triggered by intelligence that, by law, Adams shouldn’t have had.

A Reversal That Sparked a Legal Counterattack

The tension didn’t start with this accusation. It escalated after Mkhwanazi retracted earlier claims he’d made before Parliament’s ad hoc corruption committee in early October 2025. Those claims had implicated former Police Minister Bheki Cele and alleged organized crime figure Vusimuzi 'Cat' Matlala. But when pressed by committee members—including an unnamed Honorable MMA—Mkhwanazi admitted his sources were unreliable. "I’m sure you know uh one of them is uh honorable Adams," he said, trailing off. "He’ll come with allegations... I don’t know whether he’s a member of crime intelligence or he has sources there." That moment was the tipping point. On or around October 8, 2025, Adams walked into the Cape Town Central Police Station and filed perjury charges against Mkhwanazi. It wasn’t just a legal move—it was a political strike. Adams, who founded the National Coloured Congress in 2020 and now holds three seats in the National Assembly after the May 2024 elections, is positioning himself as a reformer fighting corruption from within. Mkhwanazi’s retraction, in Adams’s view, was an act of cover-up. And now, the commissioner is the one under scrutiny.

Why This Isn’t Just About Two Men

This isn’t a personal feud. It’s a systemic crisis. The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, established by President Cyril Ramaphosa in June 2024 under Proclamation R. 47, was modeled after the Zondo Commission. Its mandate: to probe whether political interference has corrupted South Africa’s police leadership. The commission’s hearings, which began in August 2024, are scheduled to end on November 15, 2025. A final report is due by December 15.

What’s at stake? The integrity of South Africa’s intelligence-sharing protocols. Section 39 of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act allows for up to 15 years in prison for unauthorized possession of classified material. If Adams did what Mkhwanazi says he did, he could face criminal charges. If Mkhwanazi lied under oath, he could lose his job—or worse. And if either side is protecting a larger network, the implications ripple through the entire SAPS structure.

What Comes Next

The commission’s next steps are critical. Investigators will likely subpoena internal SAPS communications, parliamentary access logs, and digital records from Adams’s office. They’ll also need to determine whether anyone else in Parliament received similar documents. The National Coloured Congress has not issued a formal statement, but sources say internal discussions are underway about potential disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, the public is watching. In a country still reeling from state capture, the sight of a sitting MP using intelligence meant for oversight to target police officers—without due process—feels chillingly familiar. The question isn’t just whether Adams broke the law. It’s whether the system can still protect itself when those sworn to uphold it become the threat.

Background: The Madlanga Commission and Its Precedents

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry is the latest in a series of high-stakes probes into South Africa’s institutions. The Zondo Commission (2018–2022) exposed how political patronage and corruption infiltrated state-owned enterprises. Madlanga’s focus is narrower but no less explosive: the police. Its chair, Judge Nobuntu Mbelle, has signaled she’s not afraid of powerful figures. This case, involving a sitting MP and a senior police official, is exactly the kind of test case the commission was created to handle.

The Crime Intelligence Division, established in 2002 under the Intelligence Services Act, operates under strict compartmentalization. Even within SAPS, access is tiered. That’s why Mkhwanazi’s testimony is so damning—it suggests a breakdown in protocol so fundamental it could undermine every future intelligence operation.