The South African Police Service (SAPS) promised that the upcoming National General Elections would be a non-violent and incident free, come May 29, 2024.
Saps are expected to brief the media in the next coming days, with the plans as to how they going to keep South Africans safe and the building of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).
Police ministry’s spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, told Independent Media that police would be communicating their plans on how they are going to keep the Elections incident free.
“We will be giving a comprehensive briefing on elections in the coming days,” Themba said.
Two weeks ago, at the Presidential imbizo Police minister Bheki Cele told journalist that they were monitoring social media to identify all possible election instigators.
“I don’t know why people think police can’t respond to activities on social media, with July unrest, we have arrested 62 individuals and all those people who were arrested were from social media.
If they think they can do things on social media and get away with it must think again, there are few individuals whom we have our eyes set on them as we speak,” Cele said.
Police minister said these people of interest were literally calling for anarchy and the disturbance of the elections.
“I think people can’t go that far and if they do, police will have to have some few visits and be brought for questioning, because they are calling for anarchy, war, and no one is allowed to call for such things in our country”.
Earlier in the month minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni vowed that the country would never again experienced another July arrest.
Ntshavheni called on law enforcement agencies to apprehend all those threatening violence if the elections do not go their way.
At the time she was responding to journalists’ questions on whether the cabinet had discussed the threats being made in the build-up to May 29 general elections.
“There won’t be mayhem, there won’t be a repeat of the July 2021 unrest in this country when our law enforcement agencies are at work.
Anybody who threatens violence when South Africa has dispute resolution mechanisms for elections or any type of dispute, doesn’t deserve to live among South Africans, and law enforcement agencies should make sure such people are brought to book,” Ntshavheni added.
Her comments followed the statement by the Umkhonto WeSizwe’s youth league Bonginkosi Khanyile that if former President Jacob Zuma’s name did not appear on the ballot papers there would be riots and chaos in the country.
Meanwhile, Gauteng police said plans had been put in place to provide high-level safety and security measures during the upcoming national and provincial elections.
Saturday Star
sipho.jack@inl.co.za