KwaZulu-Natal has 165 polling sites marked as high risk, the most in South Africa. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and police chief General Fannie Masemola met with the press in Durban after a final security check for the local council vote.
Across the nation, cops have flagged 331 sites where trouble may break out. The biggest concern sits in eThekwini, with 124 sites on the list. uThukela has 16, Amajuba has 13, Zululand has 11, and Ugu has one. Gauteng ranks next for the total number of sites at risk.
And the reason for those flags? Past unrest, local protests, and fears of fresh clashes. Police plan to send extra staff to these areas, with officers set to stay on duty at polling sites while people cast their votes.
Masemola says his teams have spent months getting set. They have run drills, checked risks, and made plans for a range of threats. The aim is to make sure police can act fast if a protest, threat, or other issue gets out of hand.
Even the elite squads are on call. The Special Task Force, National Intervention Unit, Tactical Response Teams, bomb squads, and hostage experts can step in if the need comes up. Mobile police teams will also patrol and back up staff where threats emerge.
The stakes in KwaZulu-Natal go well past fears of a tense vote. Since the last local council race, 18 council members have been killed in the province. Five of those deaths took place in eThekwini. That record has raised fears about the safety of people in local politics.
Another grim case hit Umgababa, just south of Durban. Gunmen killed two ANC campaign workers as they went from home to home. The attack took place during the race for votes, adding fresh concern about threats to party staff.
Cachalia wants people to have a fair chance to pick their local leaders, free from threats or force. His team has worked with police leaders in each province to plan for the vote. He made the trip to KwaZulu-Natal to hear the local security review in person.
But protests pose a separate headache for the cops. Marches that lack prior plans can pull officers away from polling duties, he said. Cachalia backed the use of court rules to set clear limits for such events, with election safety as the main concern.
Behind the scenes, the Police Ministry has been in touch with local officials and private security firms. Those talks aim to help teams work as one when risks arise. Other provinces have gone through checks of their plans as well.
For people who qualify to cast an early ballot, special voting comes first. The main local vote follows after that. Police say they will shift staff based on new reports from the field, while party leaders and their backers have been urged to avoid violence and respect each other.
Across the nation, cops have flagged 331 sites where trouble may break out. The biggest concern sits in eThekwini, with 124 sites on the list. uThukela has 16, Amajuba has 13, Zululand has 11, and Ugu has one. Gauteng ranks next for the total number of sites at risk.
And the reason for those flags? Past unrest, local protests, and fears of fresh clashes. Police plan to send extra staff to these areas, with officers set to stay on duty at polling sites while people cast their votes.
Masemola says his teams have spent months getting set. They have run drills, checked risks, and made plans for a range of threats. The aim is to make sure police can act fast if a protest, threat, or other issue gets out of hand.
Even the elite squads are on call. The Special Task Force, National Intervention Unit, Tactical Response Teams, bomb squads, and hostage experts can step in if the need comes up. Mobile police teams will also patrol and back up staff where threats emerge.
The stakes in KwaZulu-Natal go well past fears of a tense vote. Since the last local council race, 18 council members have been killed in the province. Five of those deaths took place in eThekwini. That record has raised fears about the safety of people in local politics.
Another grim case hit Umgababa, just south of Durban. Gunmen killed two ANC campaign workers as they went from home to home. The attack took place during the race for votes, adding fresh concern about threats to party staff.
Cachalia wants people to have a fair chance to pick their local leaders, free from threats or force. His team has worked with police leaders in each province to plan for the vote. He made the trip to KwaZulu-Natal to hear the local security review in person.
But protests pose a separate headache for the cops. Marches that lack prior plans can pull officers away from polling duties, he said. Cachalia backed the use of court rules to set clear limits for such events, with election safety as the main concern.
Behind the scenes, the Police Ministry has been in touch with local officials and private security firms. Those talks aim to help teams work as one when risks arise. Other provinces have gone through checks of their plans as well.
For people who qualify to cast an early ballot, special voting comes first. The main local vote follows after that. Police say they will shift staff based on new reports from the field, while party leaders and their backers have been urged to avoid violence and respect each other.
