Election materials stolen from eThekwini school before voting
Ongoing: Elections Hot
Unused ballots and the certified voters' roll were stolen overnight from Mnyameni Secondary School in Ward 2. The Electoral Commission of South Africa said the station still had enough materials, the roll was reprinted, and a theft case is open.
Ntombifuthi Masinga, the KwaZulu-Natal provincial electoral officer, said the theft exposes a risk across the whole metro. She said the PR ballot is the same at every voting station in eThekwini. She said parties and voters should be alert across the metro.
Masinga also said any stolen ballot would be easy to identify, because it would carry the wrong station stamp. She said the commission was comfortable with its checks and balances. Ward 2 has 21 voting stations and 56 candidates on its ballot.
Elsewhere, the commission said 5,028 voting stations were prepared across KwaZulu-Natal, which has 6,022,350 registered voters. Logistical problems delayed 50 stations in Ndwedwe. Three stations in Umzumbe could not be reached because the roads were inaccessible. SAPS and the SANDF are assisting in both areas.
Over two days, 234,297 of 362,878 approved special votes were cast in the province. That is a turnout of 65%.
Key facts
- Who
- Ntombifuthi Masinga (KwaZulu-Natal provincial electoral officer); Electoral Commission of South Africa (election body that confirmed the station had sufficient materials and the…); SAPS (assisting in Ndwedwe and Umzumbe); SANDF (assisting in Ndwedwe and Umzumbe)
- What
- Unused ballots and election security materials, including the certified voters' roll, were reported stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School in Ward 2 in eThekwini overnight. The Electoral Commission of South Africa said the station had sufficient materials to continue and the voters' roll had been reprinted; a theft case has been opened. Masinga said parties and voters should be alert across the…
- When
- 4 November 2026
- Where
- eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, Ward 2
- Status
- Reported