Police deploy 500 extra officers for elections in Eastern Cape, KZN

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Additional measures are being put in place in the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu Natal by the government to ensure security as special voting continues.

National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola says an additional 500 members of Public Order Policing have been deployed to various parts of Kwazulu Natal and Eastern Cape.

Some will be deployed at voting stations and hotspots during the election process.

“The reason is as you are aware from our earlier briefings we have got over 600 voting stations that are classified by this high risk, well the figure is not stagnant it goes up and down but the majority of those voting stations are found in the province of KwaZulu-Natal so hence we want to make that in addition to the police that are in that province we have this extra over 500 that are deployed to assist the police in the province,” says Masemola

‘Enforce the law’

Meanwhile, Police Minister Bheki Cele has called on law enforcement officials to be harsh on those breaking the law.

“The job of the law enforcement officers is to enforce the law and not to negotiate. Negotiate out of the roads, negotiate out of the stations, don’t close the stations, don’t close schools as they did, and close hospitals as they did. You can’t close a hospital and then go and negotiate. Police should not negotiate with people who break the law, they must start by enforcing the law and then they negotiate.”

Earlier on Monday, angry residents in the Eastern Cape blocked the road with debris, tyres and broken bottles.
Their grievances include water and road infrastructure.

The protestors say there has been no water in the rural villages of Mbizana for months.

Police have since cleared the R61 between Mbizana and Magusheni.

This protest is not related to the large-scale taxi strike affecting Mthatha and its surroundings. -Additional reporting by Nkululeko Nyembezi 

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