'We are in charge and in control,' say police ahead of election

South Africans can go out and vote on Wednesday, assured that the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) is “in charge and in control”. 

Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, deputy national police commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili said the Natjoints Co-ordination Centre — the state of the art 24-hour nodal point of contact opened by the Justice Crime Prevention Security Cluster on Friday — is up and running, providing the network of law enforcement officials with a clear picture and a bird’s-eye view of what is happening across the country. 

A security plan was in place and operational, already enabling law enforcement authorities to speed-up and fast track responses to any threats or lawlessness that have been unfolding in different parts of the country. 

She said 632 voting stations had been identified as high risk, and measures were in place to protect them. They were being treated as a specific risk category as a whole rather than prioritised in any kind of order. 

“We have no doubt that this early warning system has proven itself to be able to detect and address all identified security risks,” she said, adding that a social media monitoring team was already aware of threats that have been made. 

“We are not going to say that those threats are not going to happen. Just that we are aware of them, and if they do, we will rise and respond to them,” Mosikili said. 

“As we reflect on the past week’s incidents, it is evident that our fit-for-purpose deployment plan has been able to respond to any eventuality. Collaborated efforts have showcased that we will not tolerate and allow anyone to undermine our efforts to ensure stability across the country.”

She said truck protest action had been suspended, police had stopped taxi blockades in Port Shepstone and Durban in KwaZulu-Natal and police had been able to remove taxis that were used to barricade the N2 and N3 on some routes. 

She said KwaZulu-Natal commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi was on Sunday meeting with disgruntled taxi operators to work out a solution to the impasse.

“We remain on high alert and a heavy policy presence is in place to monitor and mitigate any more taxi-related violence in Mthatha and Maclear in the Eastern Cape,” said Mosikili. 

Police, she said, had confiscated 38 pistols and five rifles from taxi association members in Mthatha and arrested four people in Maclear for taxi-related violence that led to two deaths. 

“Related to the elections, 27 more cases have been registered and are under investigation. These new cases were registered this week from May 19 to 25.” 

These cases included: a 25-year-old man and nine-year-old girl being shot and wounded in Seshego, Limpopo, during a door-to-door campaign; 14 cases of contravening the Electoral Act, Firearms Control Act and Gatherings Act; and two attempted murders and malicious damage to property. The assault of a party member who was putting up posters is also under investigation and there were another six cases relating to vandalism and illegally removing posters. 

“We take this opportunity to call for political tolerance among voters and members of various parties,” said Mosikili. 

On top of this, normal policing operations were continuing as the national election plan enters its second phase — described as “a sensitive and critical stage of our operations” requiring heightened police visibility and more boots on the ground. 

She cautioned “responsible citizens and especially social media users” against spreading fake news, urging them to verify facts before “sharing any information which often leads to unnecessary confusion and panic”. 

Mosikili said police would not tolerate incitement of violence on any platforms, and intelligence communities and cybercrime units were closely monitoring online users. 

“We are confident that we are ready for this next phase,” she said. 

Political campaigning will end at midnight on Tuesday, and anyone caught going beyond this deadline will be in contravention of the Electoral Act. 

The home affairs department will stay open until 7pm on Monday and Tuesday, and until 9pm on Wednesday for those needing temporary IDs or to collect documents.

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