Fadiel Adams: Biography, Age, Politician, NCC

Fadiel Adams (Born 14 June 1976) is a South African politician and activist. He is the founder of the National Coloured Congress (NCC). He gained public prominence in 2018 during the Siqalo riots in Mitchells Plain while fighting for land belonging to the coloureds.

Biography: Fadiel Adams

Real Name: Fadiel Adams

Place of Birth: Soweto, Johannesburg

Date of Birth: 14 June 1976 (Age - 50)

Occupation: Politician, Activist

Political Party: National Coloured Congress (founder)

Years Active: 2020 - Present

Marital Status: Married

Children: 4

Nationality: South African

Early Life of Fadiel Adams

Fadiel Adams was born on 14 June 1976 in the suburb of Retreat in Cape Town. He born as child number three of six children. His father worked as a builder and his mother as a seamstress. He grew up in areas like Retreat, Steenberg, and Lavender Hill on the Cape Flats. However he had most of his childhood in Lavender Hills.

Growing up, Fadiel saw people who were gansters and violent receiving respect in the community. His uncle who was a gang member, a “general” of the notorious 26s gang. Fadiel looked up to him, and as a result he ended up dropping out of school in Grade 11 to join gangsterism and the use of drugs.

By age 30, he was homeless and struggling with a long-term drug addiction. Fortunately, Fadiel managed to overcome his addiction for drugs and reformed himself out of gangsterism. He has been clean for more than 20 years as of 2026.

“I managed to claw my way out, I have been clean from drugs for 18 years now.” he said in 2024 to IOL publication.

Before joining gangsterism, Fadiel Adams was a good high school student. He attended Steenberg High School in Cape Town where he and his friends became school activists. Together they were clamouring for political change and supported the ANC. However, Fadiel’s support for ANC ended later in life after feeling betrayed by the party’s approach towards coloureds after 1994.

Career of Fadiel Adams

Transformation and Activism

Fadiel Adams showed began activism in high school, but had at least 15 years of his life stolen by drugs and gangsterism. During his high school, he became an activist under the banner of ANC. He changed his mind and stopped his support for ANC after 1994 when ANC recognized coloured as a race. According Fadiel, this was an exclusion of coloured people from rest of black people. He pointed out this is evident when you consider the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy. He said it exclude coloureds because they are not considered blacks, despite of being in trenches fighting against apartheid.

“After 1994, we were told that we were not the same as Africans – we were coloured and not African. This was a shock. We were part of the struggle! We fought for equal rights. Now we were pushed away as coloureds… It became increasingly clear: black economic empowerment was turned into a weapon to screw us.” he said to Daily Maverick publication.

Adams never wanted to join politics. However in 2018, there was a land dispute between Cape coloureds and blacks near Mitchells Plain. The dispute turned violent and his brother was arrested. To him this was an oppression and trigger to join politics to fight a system that pushed coloureds to the margins. That year, he co-founded Gatvol Capetonian (“fed up Capetonians”), a group focused on issues like racist BEE policies, poor service delivery, and crime.

Political Career

Fadiel Adams started a political party, Cape Coloured Congress in 2020. He later renamed it to National Coloured Congress (NCC) in 2023 to expand it nationally. He said he started NCC without money and everything was funded by party members in order for the party to be on the ballot. This was during both the 2021 local government elections and the 2024 provincial and national elections.

“I am the only person, perhaps, in the country that started a political party without belonging to a political party. I started the party with no money. The party registration was paid for by the members.” said Fadiel to IOL publication.

In 2021 during local government elections, Fadiel Adams was elected as a councillor in the Cape Town City Council. In 2024 NCC won two seats in the national parliament; Adams was elected as a Member of the National Assembly (National List) on 14 June 2024. He serves on committees such as Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation and Portfolio Committee on Police.

Controversies

Adams has faced several controversies in his political career. In 2023 he was found to have said words of hate speech against DA member and City of Cape Town official. Fadiel posted, posted a nine-minute video on Facebook full of false accusations. He accused a DA female member of endangering the lives of his children, and falsely accused then Cape Town mayor and now DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis. His actions and words were also deemed as harassment. Therefore, the National Assembly adopted a recommendation from the Ethics Committee to sanction him for 15 days without pay for his unbridled outburst on Facebook. In 2025 he was forced to apologies and retract his statements.

Personal Life of Fadiel Adams

Fadiel is married and has a total of four children. His wife has publicly expressed support for him, particularly during his high-profile arrest in May 2026. During court proceedings following his arrests, it was revealed that Fadiel Adams was previously married before he divorced to marry his current wife.

Recent Developments of May 2026

Adams was arrested in May 2026 by the Political Killings Task Team on charges including fraud and defeating or obstructing the ends of justice. The case relates to alleged interference in the 2017 murder investigation of ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa in KwaZulu-Natal. He has pleaded not guilty and was fighting for bail while detained. He was released on R10,000 bail on 15 May 2026 and will be back in court on 14 August.