Police in KwaZulu-Natal are leaving nothing to chance, unleashing a track and trace of people purported to be stoking post-election violence in the province.
The culprits are accused of running a campaign on social media, mainly on Facebook and WhatsApp, calling on KwaZulu-Natal residents to reject the election outcome and embark on a violent demonstration.
This includes the looting of shops and the sabotage of critical infrastructure.
The provincial police spokesman, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, confirmed that the police are hard at work trying to locate the culprits and bring them to justice.
“We had anticipated that there would be celebrations and that some people would be angry after the elections,” said Netshiunda.
Inflammatory voice notes
“That’s one of the reasons why our operation was divided into three phases: pre-election, during elections, and post-election.
“At the moment, we’re investigating various inflammatory voice notes circulating on social media because they have the potential to stoke tensions in KZN.”
He explained that some of the messages circulating call for a boycott of election results and for citizens to take their war to the streets.
“Some voice notes are encouraging others to loot,” Netshiunda explained, saying the police are hot on the heels of the alleged culprits.
KwaZulu-Natal was the hotbed of what became known as the 2021 July unrest, where more than 350 people lost their lives in the running battles with vigilante groupings who masqueraded as security companies safeguarding their properties.
During the unrest, which was triggered by the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma, angry residents took to the streets, looting shops and destroying property.
KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest number of casualties.
MK Party wins big in KZN
Zuma, who is now the leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, has already fired the first salvo, saying “they must not be provoked”.
The party has approached the Electoral Court seeking a recount of the votes on the grounds that the elections were rigged.
In KwaZulu-Natal, Zuma’s home province, his sympathisers are also smelling blood and accusing the election body, the Independent Electoral Commission, of cheating them off a majority in the province.
The MK Party attained 45% of the vote share, making it the biggest party in the province.
