Police have launched an investigation into an attempted unauthorised entry incident at the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) Gauteng provincial warehouse on Tuesday night.
IEC national spokesperson Kate Bapela said the alleged perpetrators are unknown. They allegedly wanted to gain entry into the warehouse without authorisation.
Bapela said however, the group of unknown people did not gain entry to the warehouse. Nothing was taken from the warehouse, she said.
“The Electoral Commission confirms an incident of attempted unauthorised entry at its Gauteng … warehouse by as yet unknown persons on the night of Tuesday, 18 June 2024.
Unknown group of people attempted to enter warehouse
“As a matter of course, the IEC expands its footprint of storage sites ahead of each elections. This to ensure storage of …electoral supplies as close as possible to points of use. Following the conclusion of the elections, the local storage sites are rationalised. Material is rolled back for storage and safekeeping at a centralised facility.
“During such roll-back of material from a local storage site in the Johannesburg inner city, a group of persons interfered with the handling of materials. [They] subsequently followed a truck used to transport the material back to the provincial warehouse.
“On arrival at the warehouse, the group attempted to forcefully gain unauthorised entry to the warehouse. [We] can confirm that nothing was taken from the warehouse.
“The IEC is thankful to the South African Police Service for their swift response. This ensured the safety of the staff of the commission and the integrity of the stored materials. A case has been registered, and the SAPS are investigating,” said Bapela.
Two months after Houghton break-in
The incident happened almost two months after a burglary at the IEC offices in Houghton, Johannesburg. Police reported that they have opened a case and are investigating. The incident occurred on April 27.
According to the police report, the suspects gained entry through the front door. At the time, police said they didn’t know what was taken as the computers were still in the office.
But all the drawers were left opened, and papers were strewn all over the floor. The IEC’s Gauteng Provincial Electoral Officer Thabo Masemola’s office door was also broken.
