KwaZulu-Natal police have reported a relatively stable election period, with only a few incidents of political intolerance. Acting Provincial Commissioner Major-General Phumelele Makoba revealed that police had registered 18 election-related cases and arrested seven suspects on Wednesday. The cases include various charges such as contravening the Electoral Act, intimidation, assault, and malicious damage to property.
The cases registered include eight counts of contravening the Electoral Act, four cases of intimidation, and one case each of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, common assault, malicious damage to property, burglary, and fraud. Makoba made these announcements during a media briefing at the IEC Results Operations Centre at the Durban International Convention Centre on Wednesday night.
One of the cases involves the theft of sensitive IEC election material, including unmarked ballot papers, the voters' roll, and election ink, at Mnyameni High School in Hillcrest. Police confirmed that a case of burglary had been opened and were working with the IEC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. Makoba stated that established security protocols appeared to have been breached.
According to Makoba, ballot papers and other sensitive material were supposed to be transported to voting stations on election day under police escort, and no sensitive material should be stored at a voting station. Police are investigating the breach of security protocols and are working closely with the IEC to get to the bottom of the matter.
In a separate incident, a police sergeant was precautionarily removed from election operations following reports that she had arrived at a voting station in a vehicle displaying posters of a political party. Makoba described the conduct as unprofessional and stated that internal investigations were under way. The officer could face disciplinary action and possibly criminal charges if misconduct was established.
Police are also investigating a power outage that affected KwaMakhutha, uMbumbulu, and Isipingo on Wednesday. Makoba stated that the outage did not disrupt voting or the counting process, which was continuing without challenges. Eskom had attended provincial planning meetings and assured authorities that there would be no load-shedding or load reduction during the elections.
The police deployment covered 5,029 voting stations across KwaZulu-Natal, including 165 classified as high-risk, 1,014 medium-risk, and 3,550 low-risk stations. Makoba stated that police and other law enforcement agencies would remain deployed at strategic points until vote counting was concluded and the results announced. She also called on political parties and independent candidates to respect the outcome of the elections and use prescribed channels to challenge any dissatisfaction with the electoral process.
Key points
- Seven suspects were arrested in connection with 18 election-related criminal cases in KwaZulu-Natal.
- A police sergeant was removed from election operations for displaying political party posters on her vehicle.
- Police are investigating a power outage that affected several areas in KwaZulu-Natal on election day.
