Cool heads and nerves of steel from police averted a potential disaster in Pretoria on Monday, when hundreds of furious Mamelodi East residents tried to storm a voting station.
01 November 2021 - 19:43SAPS and Tshwane metro police officers calm irate Mamelodi East residents who tried to force their way into the voting station at the Life Giving Ministries church after learning that their names had apparently been left off the voters' roll.Cool heads and nerves of steel from police averted a potential disaster in Pretoria on Monday when hundreds of furious Mamelodi East residents tried to storm a voting station.
The chaos was among several glitches to affect voting in Pretoria on Monday. Delays were experienced at several polling stations in the capital because of the late delivery of ballot papers and vote-processing machines. “If you are registered you can vote. We do not want trouble. We do not want anyone hurt, but if you try to force your way in, we will be forced to deal with you,” said the SAPS officer.After 45 minutes of negotiations, the officers calmed the crowds, bringing out an IEC official to explain why some of residents' names were seemingly not on the roll.
Police and IEC officials negotiate with community leaders at the Life Giving Ministries in Mamelodi East after residents tried to force their way into a voting station upon learning that their names were not on the voters' roll.Thabo Lekalala, who took shelter in the church grounds while waiting to vote, praised the police for their “calm heads”.
“This person called John Wick has come and is killing these gangsters, but it is the police who should be killing them. It is not just anyone who should do that. What happens if he kills the wrong person? Crime makes me sad. I voted so we have better police in Pretoria. The police we have are not doing a good job. They are not catching the criminals. I really hope my vote makes a difference.”
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