State opposes bail for MP and president of the National Coloured Congress Fadiel Adams

Fadiel Adams, the president of the National Coloured Congress and an MP, will remain behind bars. When proceedings resumed on Wednesday in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court, Adams had hoped to secure bail but the matter was postponed. He has spent a week in custody after being arrested on 4 May and charged with alleged interference in the high-profile assassination case of former ANC Youth League secretary-general Sindiso Magaqa. Before the commencement of the bail application, advocate Bruce Hendricks, who represented Adams during his first court appearance, informed Magistrate Wendalyn Robinson that he would be stepping down from the matter. He said he and his client had agreed that for logistical reasons, it would be best to appoint a Durban-based legal representative, because the rest of the legal team were in Cape Town. Retired former state prosecutor Yuri Gangai subsequently took over the matter. The state wasted no time in arguing that it would not be in the interests of justice for Adams, who also serves on parliament’s portfolio committee on police, to be released on bail. In opposing bail, state prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba described Adams as a menace to society who had a blatant disregard for the rule of law. The prosecution also referred to racial and inflammatory social media posts allegedly shared by Adams. “He knew from the 2nd of May that there was a warrant of his arrest but he did not stay in his two houses. Instead, he went and posted a video for the whole country to know that he can act better than Harrison Ford. Harrison Ford was a fugitive from justice in the movie. He says: “That man, I’m better than him,” Gcaba submitted. In one of several social media posts, Adams likened himself to Ford, the American actor who starred in the 1993 film, The Fugitive. The state also took issue with another post in which Adams mockingly said: “These people with R150m budget cannot find me.” Gcaba further told the court that although Adams had submitted through his