Fadiel Adams claims Parliament lied about his laptop woes

Suspended Member of Parliament, Fadiel Adams, has accused Parliament of misleading the public over his laptop.

This comes after Adams told the Madlanga Commission that problems with his Parliament-issued laptop contributed to delays in accessing correspondence from the commission.

Adams claimed that the laptop had been problematic for about 18 months.

Parliament’s spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, said ICT records do not reflect any reported laptop malfunctions, hardware failures, or repeated freezing, as alleged by Adams.

“It is also important to clarify that Parliament’s provision of tools of trade to Members is not limited to a single laptop. Members are provided with multiple ICT devices, including a laptop, tablet and smartphone, precisely to support continuity of access and enable Members to perform their parliamentary responsibilities.“

“Where a Member experiences a technical problem with an allocated device, established ICT support channels are available for the incident to be logged, diagnosed and resolved. Alternative Parliament-issued devices also provide continuity of access while a particular device is being attended to.“

Despite this, Adams maintains that he has evidence on his phone showing a paper trail of correspondence to the Speaker of the National Assembly about his laptop problems.

“Every one of the technicians can be asked off the record, on the record, if they work on my laptop. I’m sure every one of them is going to say yes, they have.

“So I have no idea why Parliament is getting involved in all of this. And Parliament itself said it; they don’t normally get involved. So maybe they must explain to you why they got involved. Remember, the business of Parliament is to ensure that Parliament’s hands are always clean. 

“So for me, it’s confusing. This thing is deeper than we thought. It runs high, probably, possibly to the highest office in the land.“

Meanwhile, Adams says he will not be intimidated and is ready to reveal all he knows when he appears before the Madlanga Commission.

He is expected to return to the commission on Wednesday.

Adams is at the centre of controversy surrounding the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), including allegations that information he provided was used to investigate senior Crime Intelligence and Political Killings Task Team officials.

IDAC State Advocate, Drushantha Ramsamy, testified that Adams should have been charged for possessing Crime Intelligence information.

Adams has strongly rejected the allegations, insisting the documents were anonymously placed in his office and that he acted in the public interest by exposing possible wrongdoing.