Vuwani: Police arrest 3 for ‘irresponsible utterances’, vow to keep voters safe

From an aerial view, Vuwani looks normal apart from a few barricades and trenches on some streets, but tension remains thick on the ground. 

Police were, however, adamant that elections will go ahead smoothly and promised to secure all the 56 voting stations on elections day. 

At least three community leaders were arrested yesterday and this morning as police started penetrating the area, which has largely been barricaded and had limited their access to the area. Police had been clearing barricades since last week. 

Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Kgomotso Phahlane said the three were arrested for making “irresponsible utterances” that sought to influence communities against voting and could lead to others being threatened and intimidated if they exercised their democratic right and vote on Wednesday. 

Phahlane said they were expecting more arrests. 

He said the “police could not be spectators” while people were influencing communities not to vote or say things that could lead to violence. 

Phahlane said more work was done to reinstate stability across Vuwani ahead of elections and that they were leaving no space for any disruptions. 

He said more than 1000 police officials were deployed to Vuwani and they were already seeing some differences in the area. 

A group of journalists was flown in an army helicopter over areas such Mashau and the most volatile Vyeboom, where very few blockaded roads and trenches were seen. 

“We’ve taken control of the streets of Vuwani and we’re guaranteeing the people of Vuwani they are safe and secure. We do not expect to have any violence in Vuwani because we have deployed accordingly,” Phahlane said. 

He said police would keep a hawk’s eye on the 56 voting stations in the area. Their work would start tomorrow at 14 stations where 34 people had registered for special votes. 

“People of Vuwani can be assured that as law enforcement agencies we’re here and that they must not fear anyone. They must be allowed to exercise their democratic right and go vote in numbers,” Phahlane said. 

Vuwani experienced violent protests, which left more than 20 schools torched, and a shutdown that saw thousands of pupils staying away from school for the last three months. 

Protesting communities threatened not to vote unless their areas remained part of the Makhado municipality and not the new entity that would be formed by Vuwani, Malamulele and Hlanganani. 

Phahlane said Vuwani “had been a challenge for us as the country” and that it featured high on the security cluster’s list of 650 hot-spot areas countrywide where they deployed a large police contingency to ensure safety and security over the elections week. 

Meanwhile, Vuwani was still under a total shutdown. Businesses and schools remained closed. Protesters have vowed to keep it this way until the elections were over. 

There were divisions. Some community leaders opposed voting but traditional leaders last week signed an agreement with the government that said people should vote and allow the government to initiate legislative process aimed at reversing demarcation decision that affects them. 

A pro-Makhado group spokesperson, Nsovo Sambo, said the “general feeling among the communities is that people should stay home and not vote”. 

“People are angry but we have pleaded with and urged them not to start any violence, threaten or intimidate anyone. Our struggle is on but we have never encouraged any violence and we believe as much as others are taking advantage of their democratic right not to vote, those who want to vote should be allowed to do so,” he said.