MP Fadiel Adams remanded in custody as state opposes bail over ‘fugitive’ remarks

The state has no reasonable grounds to prosecute or keep National Cape Congress (NCC) Fadiel Adams in custody and appears intent on punishing him, his lawyer, Bruce Hendricks, says. Hendricks made the argument during Adams’s first appearance in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Adams, who is an MP and a member of parliament’s portfolio committee on police, was remanded in custody and is expected back in court on Wednesday for a bail application. “Everybody is equal before the law and Mr Adams should be treated the same way,” Hendricks argued. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that the state has been sitting with the matter for more than a year but today they are seeking a postponement. What we have here is that the state is upset by the media briefings that Mr Adams has held.” Hendricks, who pushed for the bail application to be heard on the same day, also submitted to magistrate Wendalyn Robinson that the state had claimed Adams’s life was under threat, while seeking to keep him in custody. “The very same state that said it had safety concerns for Mr Adams says he must be kept in custody and further endanger his life. Mr Adams is not accused of murder or war crimes. It cannot be in the interests of justice to keep him in custody,” he said. Hendricks also criticised the manner in which Adams had been transported, saying his client was driven 1 600km from the Western Cape to Durban in the back of a van. He argued that Adams, who is married and has two minor children, needed to be at home with his family. Adams, 49, faces three counts of fraud and two counts relating to the administration of justice. He entered the courtroom appearing relaxed before warmly embracing his mother, who was flanked by NCC members. Nearby, his wife stood quietly in the public gallery. The state fired the opening salvo through prosecutor Zwelethu Mata, who said that while the state had initially not intended to oppose bail, it had since changed its position because of Ad