By Lawrence Armoed

Who will be the mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay?

The final vote count for the Nelson Mandela Bay metro is in and it’s a narrow win for the DA following the local government elections on Monday.

The IEC says the DA received 39.9% of the vote, while the ANC is a close second with 39.4 per cent.

This means both parties are essentially neck-and-neck, having secured 48 council seats each.

The EFF is third, with 6.4% of the vote in Nelson Mandela Bay with eight seats.

With none of the parties getting the much-needed majority, a coalition will have to be formed leaving the Metro guessing as to who the next Mayor would be. 

In Buffalo City, vote counting is 93% complete with the ANC in the lead there with 59.4% and the DA 19.6%.

The national vote count is 96% complete.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the IEC’s Results Operations Centre in Tshwane later on Thursday.

The final results will be broadcast live at 6 pm.

The Independent Electoral Commission admitted on Wednesday that 42 days were not nearly enough to organise and prepare for elections.

By Nomalungelo Booi

DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille has opened a case of assault against a police officer, after she was seen being dragged out of the Fernwood Primary School voting station in Bethelsdorp. 

DA communications director Richard Newton said ANC observers at a voting station in Gqeberha had accused her of canvassing for votes minutes before she was taken out of the facility by police.

“It is alleged that on 1 November 2021 at about 12:30, DA party agent Helen Zille was at the Fernwood Primary School voting station in Bethelsdorp. According to Ms Zille, due to the long queue, she walked down the line asking people to wait,” Newton said.

Zille further said that, when she got to the front of the queue, the ANC observers accused her of canvassing.

“She then alleged that a Warrant Officer Botha instructed her to leave the premises and threatened to arrest her and put her in the back of a police vehicle.

“She was ‘frog-marched’ out of the premises and the police officer twisted her arm and continued pushing her.

“The cellphone that her colleague was using to film the incident was allegedly taken by Botha,” Newton said.

Zille went to the police station in Bethelsdorp and opened a case of assault.

IPID spokesperson Grace Langa said an investigator was trying to get hold of Zille after she opened a case of assault against a police officer. 

She said Zille had been unreachable by phone. Langa said a thorough investigation into the incident would follow. 

A cellphone video recording showed  Zille being dragged out of the voting station in Bethelsdorp by a police officer. 

Taking to her Facebook page on Monday night, Zille said her tasks for the day had been to greet voters and “walk the queues”.

“It involves encouraging people to stay in the queue, no matter how long it takes and how frustrated they get, so that they can cast their vote rather than go home,” she posted.

She said she was very careful to ensure she did not canvas anywhere within the IEC’s boundary line.

 tried to rip myself free’

At the primary school, she had found a very long queue and worked out the hold-up was due to the apparently slow manual input of ID numbers into a tablet.

“I then tried to establish how long the voting would take by timing this interaction on my phone’s stop-watch. I positioned myself two meters from where this device was being used to manually capture ID numbers. I did not interfere with a single voter, nor with any officer performing his or her duties. I merely timed the process,” she said.

“The shortest time it took to capture an ID number was 30 seconds. The longest was 90 seconds. Multiplying the average by the number of people in the queue, I calculated that it would take about 4-5 hours for the people at the back of the queue to get to the front. Ms Latola [the presiding officer] then told me to leave the voting station. I said I had the required authorisation to be there, and then suggested that she use her authority to divide the queue on the basis of alphabetical surnames, as had happened in a nearby Voting Station.”

Zille left the voting station and returned later on to find the queue longer and no double queue system implemented.

“Once again, I walked up the queue from the back, thanking people for coming, and asking them to stay in the queue, even though many of them had been waiting for hours. When I made my way to the front of the queue, two of the ANC party agents told me to stop canvassing in the queue. I told them I was not canvassing, I was urging people to stay in the queue despite their intense frustration at the inordinate delay.”

She said she approached Latola again, who allegedly accused her of canvassing.

“A burly policeman, Warrant Officer A Botha, approached and before I could say a word, he instructed me to leave. I presented my authorisation, and said I had a right to be there. With that he instructed me to leave, grabbed me and frog-marched me out of the building. I told him to let me go or I would charge him with assault,” she said.

“I tried to rip myself free of his grasp, but he was very powerful and frog-marched me all the way to the gate. My colleague filmed the last segment of his violence, at which point he lunged over and grabbed her cellphone. She tried to get it back, but he turned and went into the building.”

Zille said she had opened a case at Bethelsdorp police station and then returned to the voting station, where she was given a dispute form to fill out.The delays today at the Fernwood Park Primary Voting Station were clearly deliberate, and scores of voters left without voting in this DA stronghold.  The same, apparently, applies in many other places,” she said.

By Nomalungelo Booi

Safety and Security, and the future of the youth were on the mind of 36-year-old Kariega resident, Rene’ Hendricks.

She spent about an hour in the queue at the Seagulls Primary School in Rosedale on Monday morning, where she cast her ballot.

Two men were arrested and are due to appear in court on Tuesday.

The voting station is a stone’s throw away from the area where three people were shot and killed and three others wounded in suspected gang on Saturday night.

Hendricks told Daily Kasi News that she was hoping that the party she voted for would win and make the changes that she would like to see.

“It is very important, especially if we want to see change and especially if we raise children,” she said.

Hendricks said the society that we are living in was very violent and “we don’t see the change that we want.  One of the main issues is for the change that I want to see in the community and it’s affecting the young people.”

She said not enough was being done for the youth of Kariega.

Meanwhile, the focus in the Eastern Cape was squarely on Nelson Mandela Bay where the Democratic Alliance and the African National Congress were pushing for majority wins.

The Metro is being hotly contested by 26 parties and 16 independent candidates, which an analyst says could once more lead to Nelson Mandela Bay being governed by a coalition.

DA mayoral candidate and current mayor, Nqaba Bhanga, said however that it would be possible to gain a 50% plus 1 majority if all their members went out to vote.

ANC provincial leader, Oscar Mabuyane, was also confident that the governing party would regain control of Nelson Mandela Bay, after losing out in 2016.

He said he believed the governing party was on the right track this time around and is on a path of renewal.

The Independent Electoral Commission said that voting in the 2021 Municipal Elections got off to a smooth start “at almost all voting stations”. 

“The vast majority of the country’s 23 148 voting stations reported being open on time at 7 am and that voting was flowing smoothly,” the IEC said in a statement.

“The Electoral Commission said it was particularly encouraged that many voting stations reported strong turnouts from early in the day with many voters already waiting to vote before the 7 am opening.”

It said, “delays in voting were reported in less than one percent of voting stations due to a variety of circumstances including tents being blown over by high winds overnight and the late arrival of election staff and voting materials in a few voting stations.”

By Phumlani Saul

Kwanobuhle police are on the hunt for more suspects allegedly involved in a shooting incident which left three people dead on Saturday, October 30 in Kwanobuhle.

According to police reports, it is alleged that at about 14:50, police were alerted to the shooting at a tavern  in Jongilanga  Street in Kwanobuhle.

It is alleged that about six suspects entered the tavern and opened fire at the patrons. Three males aged between 25 to 35 were fatally wounded. The suspects then drove off in a Quantum  taxi,” police spokesperson Colonel Naidu said.

She added that as the police were driving in Jafta Street, they noticed a group of about six males walking with firearms.

Officers gave chase and with the assistance of metro police officials, they successfully apprehended two suspects. Three 9mm firearms and ammunition were also seized. The two suspects were detained on charges of possession of prohibited firearms, illegal possession of ammunition and attempted murder.”

Names of the deceased persons will be released after a formal identification is done on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, Naidu added.

The Provincial Organized Crime Investigation in Gqeberha are investigating three counts of murder and two cases of attempted murder.

“The firearms will be sent for ballistic testing and the search for the outstanding suspects continues. The motive for the senseless murders is yet to be established,” Naidu said.

Anyone who can assist the police in their investigation can contact  Provincial  OCI, D/W/O John Lourens on 0713524706 or Crime Stop 08600 10111 or the nearest police station.

By Phumlani Saul

Kenneth and Mariam Barnes could not understand why their grandson had spent days staring at a particular spot in their backyard. 

On Monday, the reason became clear. 

“He [allegedly] told me that he had buried his girlfriend in our backyard,”  grandfather Barnes said. 

The gruesome murder of 15-year-old Sinthia Williams — several months pregnant at the time of her death,  according to her family — has stunned Kariega residents.   

That her 19-year-old boyfriend has allegedly confessed to not only killing her, but disposing of her body in a shallow grave only metres from his grandparents’ back door, is beyond anyone’s imagination. 

The man will appear in the Kariega magistrate’s court on Friday.

The suspect handed himself over to police last night [Wednesday] and pointed out that he buried her in the garden at his home in Bauhinia Crescent,” police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said. 

“Police then found her body in a shallow grave at that premises and the suspect was subsequently arrested for her murder.” 

For 10 days,  Sinthia’s remains lay concealed beneath the dirt at the house in Bauhinia Crescent in the suburb of Thomas Gamble until the man, who cannot be named until he has appeared in court, allegedly confessed to his grandparents.

His grandparents’ horror is compounded by the fact that he even took part in searches for the teen mother-to-be after she was reported missing, and that he had allegedly told Sinthia’s parents he was worried that he could not find her. 

By Lutho Magwa

Gqeberha police have released the name of the second person who died in the car crash with Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Nqaba Bhanga on Saturday night.

Sandile Ronald Sicolo, 39, was travelling with Nonzwakazi Maho, 44, when the accident occurred around 11.30pm on Saturday. Bhanga was rushed to Netcare Greenacres hospital, while Sicolo and Maho died on the scene.

Bhanga is in a stable condition and recovering after undergoing surgery on Sunday to stop internal bleeding.

Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said the investigation into what transpired on Saturday night, and why all involved were out past curfew, continues.

A case of culpable homicide is under investigation and the police have urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Detective Warrant Officer Errol Kleinhans on 082 302 6419, or their nearest police station.

By Phumlani Saul

Former Nelson Mandela Bay ANC ward 45 councillor Monde Vaaltyn, who died from Covid-19 complications at the weekend, has been described as a brilliant person who worked tirelessly for his community.

Vaaltyn, 48, did not make it back to council after the 2016 local government elections.

In his time in council, he served in the human settlements and budget and treasury portfolio committees.

He succumbed to the virus on Saturday after being admitted to the Cuyler Clinic in Kariega, where he was placed on a ventilator

His death comes as Covid-19 cases continue to surge in the Bay, with 2,380 active cases as of Sunday night.

 Former ANC councillor Loyiso Stemele described Vaaltyn as a hard worker.

“Comrade Vaaltyn was one of the best members of the ANC, especially when it  came to issues of governance.

He was very diligent and was very passionate about issues of his community.

“Wherever he was deployed, he made sure he excelled. He was a brilliant chap.”

Stemele said a FalteinVaaltyn was involved in upskilling residents through his small business after the 2016 polls.

“He’s done a lot for his community.

“This is such a great loss to the movement because we were still looking to benefit from his contribution.

“We are deeply saddened by this loss as the KwaNobuhle community,” he said.

ANC regional co-ordinator Luyolo Nqakula said: “As the ANC, we wish to extend our condolences to the family of comrade Vaaltyn.

Comrade Monde has left an indelible mark in the ANC through his active participation in the transformation agenda of the ANC.

“He was a resource of and for the ANC, especially on matters of budget and treasury. Hamba kahle, Mkhonto.”

The date of his funeral is not yet known. 

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By Phumlani Saul

The first collection of shows on the 2021 National Arts Festival Experience programme has been announced. The hybrid festival sees the National Arts Festival return to live stages in Makhanda from 8-18 July, and for the first time in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Gqeberha and Durban ahead of the Eastern Cape event with a series of shows called Standard Bank Presents, in theatres from 17 June-4 July. The National Arts Festival Online programme will also unfold through the month of July on the Festival’s website. The Festival Experience features new elements such as Standard Bank Presents, as well as audience favourites such as the Standard Bank Jazz Festival and the Fringe.
 
Working within the COVID-19 regulations and responding to what audiences and artists need, the Festival has spread its programme across three platforms to create enabling spaces that best accommodate and interpret the work being made in South Africa right now. As such, it is a study of work migrating, shifting and returning across mediums, platforms, time and space as the arts strives to re-establish and express itself after a long period of forced hibernation. 

Says National Arts Festival’s Artistic Director, Rucera Seethal, “The Festival has, this year, emerged as a time capsule of the artmaking coming from the past year and our current predicament. Opportunities to create and present have notably reduced, however artists have still made work, in new formats and using new methods. In 2021, the Festival has taken on the challenge of considering how to curate live experiences for audiences in Makhanda and various cities. There is a sense of works in transformation, works crossing disciplinary boundaries, works insisting on new relationships with space, distance and audience. As much as, thematically, artists are reflecting on this current disorientating moment, curatorially the Festival has sought to present works which offer solace to audiences – from stillness to humour to healing

By Mkhululi Ndamase

Several buses were set alight at the Algoa Bus Company depot in Motherwell on Wednesday night.

This was confirmed by police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu at 9.55pm.

However, Naidu said she did not have much information.

“A preliminary report is that buses are burning at the bus depot. [But there is] no other info available at this stage. [I] cannot confirm the number of buses on fire,” she said

Algoa Bus CEO Sicelo Duze said: “I am sorry I won’t be able to talk to you, thank you, bye-bye.”

It is not clear whether the setting alight of the buses is linked to the ongoing taxi strike over Covid-19 money.

Taxi drivers have caused havoc in Nelson Mandela Bay with the strike, resulting in businesses closing shop while also setting alight a truck and intimidating motorists.

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By Phumlani Saul and Luvuyo Miller

A large contingent of police officers flanked striking taxi drivers on the R75 on Wednesday morning, pushing them off the road.

About 30 taxis drove down the R75 from the direction of KwaDwesi, heading towards the Chatty Dip.

However, they were cornered by the police at the intersection that connects Chelsea and Uitenhage roads, near Nelson Mandela University’s Missionvale Campus.

The drivers then got out of their vehicles and stood in the middle of the road, with the police seen talking to them.The police and drivers reached an agreement and they started to disperse, with the road then opened. 

 bitter dispute over Covid-19 funding has left Nelson Mandela Bay’s taxi industry in turmoil, with a behind-the-scenes war between vehicle owners and drivers raging on for weeks.

Road closures continued in and around Nelson Mandela Bay on Wednesday morning as protests, related to an ongoing taxi strike, flared up again.

On Tuesday, it spilt over onto the streets as stones were thrown and tyres burnt, a truck and e-hailing vehicle torched, and rubber bullets fired.

Various routes about Motherwell, New Brighton and KwaDwesi were blocked by protesters, while access routes to Gqeberha’s northern areas and routes to and from Kariega were also disrupted.

This is a developing story.

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