National Coloured Congress MP Fadiel Adams has opened a case of intimidation against the South African Police Service after approximately 15 officers from the Political Killings Task Team raided his former home in Westridge, Mitchell’s Plain at around 4am on Saturday, 2 May, without presenting a search warrant or an arrest warrant.
Adams was not present at the property at the time of the raid, having moved out of the Westridge home two months prior. He has alleged the operation was not a legitimate search but an attempt to detain him outside of any lawful process, and has directly linked the incident to questions he raised during a parliamentary portfolio committee on police the week before.
What happened at the Mitchell’s Plain property
Around 15 officers, some wearing balaclavas, entered the property and pointed firearms at the occupants. A 12-year-old boy was allegedly assaulted during the raid. Officers forcibly photographed the identity documents of family members present, refused to identify themselves, and produced no warrant of any kind, neither for the search of the premises nor for the arrest of any individual.
Adams said he only became aware that any warrant existed on Sunday, 3 May, the day after the raid had already taken place. The officers are attached to the Political Killings Task Team, a specialised unit of the South African Police Service established to investigate politically motivated killings.
The PKTT has not publicly responded to Adams’s account.
A criminologist questioned by EWN on 4 May weighed in on the legality of warrantless searches conducted by specialised police units, noting the contested legal ground occupied by operations in which no warrant is presented and no suspect is found at the searched premises.
Adams’s kidnapping allegation and the next steps
Adams told a press briefing following the incident that he believes the officers intended to abduct him.
“I believe police wanted to kidnap me,” he said.
He connected the raid to a question posed before a portfolio committee on police the previous Wednesday, though the specific nature of that question could not be confirmed at the time of publishing.
Adams has since opened a formal case of intimidation against the SAPS at a Cape Town police station. He has said he fears for his life in the wake of the incident and has indicated he will pursue the matter through both legal and parliamentary channels.
The intimidation case is expected to be investigated, with the outcome likely to determine whether any officers from the PKTT face formal disciplinary or criminal proceedings.
Parliament is also expected to be a forum for further questions about the operation, given that Adams is an active member of the portfolio committee that oversees the SAPS.
