Nkabinde says IDAC referral was necessary after Fadiel Adams lost confidence in Masemola

Suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu’s Chief of Staff, Cedric Nkabinde, has defended his decision to refer a complaint by National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams to the Independent Directorate for Anti-Corruption (IDAC). 

He told Parliament’s ad hoc committee that it was the only appropriate action after Adams lost confidence in National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.

Testifying on Wednesday, Nkabinde said he received an email on November 1 2024, from Sakeena Frenchman, sent on behalf of Adams, alleging that criminal dockets he had registered in the Western Cape and Gauteng were being unlawfully intercepted.

The email, addressed to Nkabinde and to the minister's PA, noted that Adams had lost faith in the National Commissioner and requested that an independent investigator be appointed. 

He said he initially treated the complaint as a service delivery issue because Adams’ email raised concerns about his dockets not being properly investigated.

“When we receive complaints, you don’t just refer a complaint. You take the complaint on its merits.

This complaint itself is showing that a complainant has lost confidence in the national commissioner,” Nkabinde said.

He explained that since Adams requested an independent body to investigate, the only appropriate authority was IDAC, because “the national commissioner is the number one cop in the country.”

The emails and information notes, which Nkabinde presented to the committee, showed that Adams had opened six dockets, three in Cape Town and three at Orlando SAPS in Gauteng, alleging fraud, theft, nepotism, abuse of the secret services account, and cover-ups of criminal incidents.

Nkabinde said the complaints were lodged in less than 48 hours between October 28 and 30, 2024. While he acknowledged the short timeframe, he said that a complainant would reasonably expect their cases to be allocated to an investigating officer, and the alleged interception raised red flags.

Nkabinde told the committee he had not directly questioned Adams about his loss of confidence in the National Commissioner, nor had he liaised with Masemola about the complaint. Instead, he referred the matter to the relevant authorities.

He said the follow-up email on 10 November, in which Adams again requested an independent investigation, made it clear that this was no longer a service delivery issue but a criminal matter requiring IDAC’s intervention.

Advocate Norman Arendse, leading the evidence, challenged Nkabinde’s decision, saying the referral had been “entirely inappropriate” and had led to the arrest of Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo.

"You will say, well, you referred it to IDAC, they had to do their job and had to do the investigation, and they were the ones who arrested him and had him charged. But it started with your referral, which I want to submit to you in conclusion, to be entirely inappropriate and that’s putting it mildly."

Nkabinde responded that IDAC considered the complaint independently and that he was not expecting feedback from the directorate because it reports to the justice minister.

Nkabinde told the committee that referring the complaint to IDAC was justified. “Definitely, as he is requesting an independent body, the independent body relevant will be IDAC,” he said,

He added that Adams’ complaint showed a clear loss of confidence in the National Commissioner, leaving no other appropriate avenue for an independent investigation.

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za 

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