FADIEL Adams, the member of parliament (MP) and leader of the National Coloured Congress (NCC) will be back in the dock at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court on Friday, May 15, when his bail application is set to continue.

The matter adjourned on Wednesday (May 13) after the State presented its arguments on why it is opposed to Adams being granted bail.

Leading to the conclusion of proceedings on Wednesday, the State told the court that Adams, who is accused of misrepresenting himself as being on official parliamentary duty when he visited the Westville Correctional Centre to conduct two separate interviews with inmates, had not reported these engagements to the portfolio committee on police that he serves on, and had done this without a parliamentary mandate.

In its arguments, the State sought to establish that Adams has “a history of giving the courts the middle finger”.

This was in relation to a vulgar social media post Adams made in 2023 in which he allegedly expressed a refusal to comply with an Equality Court order against him.

The State’s counter argument to one of Adams’ submissions that if granted bail he would not interfere with witnesses in the matter because they are unknown to him, was that this cannot be true because once he became aware of his imminent arrest, he allegedly “initiated” WhatsApp conversations with one of the witnesses, asking them to furnish him with a statement they had made to the police.

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The court heard that this witness had allegedly assisted Adams with obtaining a statement from one of the inmates he had interviewed.

The State also argued that Adams’ actions when members of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) sought to effect a warrant for his arrest showed that “he will attempt to evade” the court should he be granted bail.

This argument, the State Prosecutor told the court, was bolstered by the numerous video clips played in court in which Adams expressed knowing about being traced by the members of the PKTT, and likened himself to the lead character in the blockbuster movie The Fugitive.

The State argued that by approaching a high court in the Western Cape for it to order that his warrant of arrest be given to him, Adams had made a calculated move that sought to delay his arrest.

In mitigation during bail proceedings, Adams’ legal representative told the court that the MP had in different ways shown a willingness to co-operate.

The court heard that his continued detention would adversely impact his parliamentary duties.

Adams denied being a flight risk and argued that his “ties” in the country are not “nominal” but “are the very fabric of my being”.

Being granted bail, the court heard, would afford Adams the opportunity to properly consult with his legal counsel and respond accordingly to the charges.

Additionally, Adams’ legal representative told the court that being denied bail would exacerbate a medical condition which will soon require medical attention.

The court heard that Adams would be willing to abide to all bail conditions and surrender his passport.

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