Fadiel Adams arrest a “sideshow”, says Sindiso Magaqa family

The family of Sindiso Magaqa, the slain former ANC Youth League secretary-general, said it will not be swayed by the arrest of Fadiel Adams, viewing him instead as a small player in a much bigger conspiracy surrounding Magaqa’s assassination. Instead, they see Adams’s arrest as a possible sideshow, insisting that those who orchestrated the killing remain untouched. “We’re reiterating what we’ve been saying over the years that we’re demanding justice for Sindiso Magaqa. All other things happening in the periphery and sideshows we’re not interested in. It’s like someone chasing over a mosquito,” charged Thabiso Zulu, the family spokesperson and Magaqa’s long-time friend. Adams, 49, a member of parliament who also serves on the portfolio committee on police, was arrested a week ago by members of the SAPS political task team. At the time of his arrest, he was at the parliamentary village in Pelican Park, Cape Town. He was subsequently transported in a police van to KwaZulu-Natal, where he faced three charges of fraud and two charges of defeating the administration of justice. At the centre of the state’s case are allegations that Adams made unauthorised trips from Cape Town to Durban on 2 November 2024 and 24 January 2025, during which he visited Westville Prison. The state alleges that Adams conducted separate interviews with two awaiting-trial inmates during the visits. One of the inmates was Sibusiso Ncengwa, alleged to be a key figure and hitman in the high-profile assassination. Ncengwa was last year sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment after entering into a plea bargain with the state and confessing to what had transpired. He said the group had received R120 000 as a deposit for the hit and were later promised lucrative municipal tenders but these promises never materialised, prompting him to come clean. The state also alleges that Adams abused and misrepresented his status as an MP, misleading the SAPS and eThekwini Metro Police into escorting hi