Whistleblower Patricia Mashale has publicly defended National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams after his recent arrest.
Adams was taken into custody on Tuesday on charges related to the 2017 assassination of former ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa.
Authorities allege that Adams engaged in irregular interactions with individuals linked to the case, specifically accusing him of interfering with convicted hitman Sibusiso Ncengwa during a “sensitive and advanced stage” of the investigation.
He appeared in the Pinetown magistrate’s court in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday. The case has been postponed for a formal bail application, and he will remain in custody until May 13.
After the arrest, Mashale took to Facebook to voice her support, stating bluntly, “I stand with Adams”.
Mashale initially described the news of the arrest as “hilarious”, noting she first mistook it for an April Fool’s joke. However, she quickly pivoted, suggesting the arrest was a blessing in disguise because it forced the hitman’s affidavit into the public record.
“He was denied the right to tell South Africans who gave the order to kill Sindiso Magaqa, but now he will be able to tell his truth publicly,” Mashale said. “They might have tried to bury the truth, but they didn’t realise they were actually digging it up.”
Mashale argued that Adams was being targeted specifically because of his race, pointing out that other members of parliament facing serious allegations had not faced similar treatment.
“This isn’t about racism or tribalism; it’s not even about the case or the truth. This is about humiliating a coloured MP,” she claimed. “Several other MPs have been accused of much more serious charges and were never arrested in this manner.”
She further addressed the stereotypes often levelled against the coloured community.
“Coloureds have been branded gangsters, druggies, and criminals by other groups. In their minds, coloureds belong in jail; they don’t deserve to rise up and challenge the narrative. I am coloured and I am not ashamed to challenge that narrative. Call me whatever names you want — you did not make me and you will never break me.”
Mashale said she was unafraid of legal repercussions and even challenged the police to arrest her alongside Adams. She revealed that she was the one who originally brought the hitman’s situation to Adams’ attention in his capacity as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Police.
According to Mashale, the hitman wanted to confess and name the “mastermind” behind the Magaqa murder shortly after his arrest, but was allegedly blocked by a network of corrupt officials.
“I informed [Adams] that the hitman wanted to confess, but corrupt police officers, prosecutors, lawyers, and magistrates would not allow it,” Mashale alleged. “Some of those officers are members of the political killings task team, and their names are in the very affidavit on which the hitman was eventually convicted — after Fadiel Adams intervened.”
Mashale maintained that Adams was simply performing his duties as an MP. She explained that the hitman sought Adams’ help because his own legal counsel and the investigating officer refused to facilitate a confession or a separation of trials. Adams subsequently assisted the hitman in securing independent legal representation, which led to his confession and conviction.
Mashale also accused KZN police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi of protecting those truly responsible for Magaqa’s death. “I’m not going to shy away from this one. The ‘cult’ can come for me, I don’t care,” she said. “Magaqa will get justice, whether they like it or not. You can fool some people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”
Encouraging Adams to remain resilient, Mashale warned about the current legal climate in South Africa.
“I guess at some point under this newly established ‘law,’ many of us will also be arrested for ‘interfering in investigations,’ because we are conducting our own investigations into the Senzo Meyiwa case,” she noted.
TimesLIVE
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