KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, during a visit to the Provincial Results Operations Centre in Durban on Friday. Photo: Lise Comins
South African Police provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said on Friday at the results processing centre in Durban that police had had to deal with more than 900 protests in the run-up to the general election, including 211 cases of civil disturbance in KwaZulu-Natal.
He said police have investigated 68 election-related cases since February, suspended two officers this week – one of them for wearing party uniform and misusing a government vehicle for political purposes – and had to deal with long queues and drunk people disrupting the voting process.
“Our officers worked long hours in both rural and urban areas, endured crowds and long queues and had to deal with drunk and badly behaving people while working,” Mkhwanazi said, adding that work was continuing as people were still “celebrating”.
He said KwaZulu-Natal had been a police focus area “long before the election was announced”.
Police Trials
“South Africans and other nationalities have been watching with bated breath to see how law enforcement agencies in this province will maintain peace and stability during this period, from the election campaign through to post-election,” Mkhwanazi said.
“KwaZulu-Natal police understand the challenges we face and are working with other law enforcement agencies, including the South African National Defence Force. [SA National Defence Force]”Thanks to the efforts of the provincial security service, metro police, other law enforcement agencies, the corrective service and all our trusted partners in the private security industry, KwaZulu-Natal has remained stable during this election period,” he said.
“We hope that the situation will remain stable. We remain on the ground and activities are still ongoing.”
“Policing during these elections has not been without challenges. Since February this year, police in the state have had to deal with over 900 protests. Of these, 690 were peaceful, but police have had to contain 211 disturbance situations,” he said.
Ethekwini and Ugu towns were the worst affected.
“A total of 68 election-related cases have been registered in the state and 24 suspects have been arrested. These cases range from pointing and firing firearms, taking away or concealing polling material, obstructing or impeding IEC officials in their duties, intimidation, defacement and illegal removal of posters, possession of firearms and various forms of assault for fraud,” he said.
Of the 24 suspects arrested, three remain in custody while the remaining have been released on bail.
Mkhwanazi said four murders were reported in the province on election day but they were not linked to voting.
No room for political activity
“We have removed two of our personnel from security duties for the upcoming elections after we warned the police officers that they are not politicians and should leave politics to politicians. This comes after a video of one of our personnel wearing a party uniform went viral on social media. The two personnel have rightly been suspended,” he said.
“Internal disciplinary measures will follow as investigations continue. South African Police Service personnel cannot be allowed to choose sides, especially when it comes to politics. Our role in politics is only to vote for the party we support and more importantly, to protect the public and not be influenced by political parties.”
Talking about the planning that was done before the election date was announced, he said, “We started coordinating and spent sleepless nights putting together a plan to ensure that every resident of this state and every participant in the election is protected. Intelligence was on the ground and we were collecting vital information that would help in the planning,” he said.
“At a time when many people waiting in long queues were panicking and many analysts were questioning the capacity of police in townships and urban centres, security forces stood vigilant and thwarted any attempts at lawlessness or disruption of the elections,” Mkhwanazi said.
“The operation is not over yet and we urge all police officers not to lose focus during this period. Our intelligence units are on the ground performing their duties and gathering the most crucial information that will inform us of what is to come, so officers must remain vigilant at all times.”
“We call on all political parties, particularly party leaders, to spread responsible messages when the results are out and we call on those who win to celebrate responsibly. Police will be on the ground to ensure no law is broken during this period,” Mkhwanazi said.
He called on supporters of political parties not to provoke others and those being provoked to abide by the law and avoid confrontation.