Placido Hilukilwa
CHAOS erupted at the Evululuko SSS polling station in Oshakati, and voting was momentarily put on hold when members of opposition parties prevented voters allegedly bussed in from Kavango from casting their votes.
The police’s Special Reserve Force had to intervene to prevent an imminent physical fight.
Kalimbo Iipumbu of the NEFF said the voters who arrived in the first bus were allowed to vote, but party agents became suspicious when the second bus arrived. “We quickly noticed that, although they have voter cards, none has an ID, and none speaks any local language,” he said.
Hophni Iipinge of Swapo, who accompanied the buses and tried to explain the situation, was manhandled by opposition members and had to be rescued by police officers and removed from the premises.
The situation was so tense that the buses left hurriedly, only to return almost an hour later. The passengers were then allowed to vote under heavy police guard as opposition members continued to shout from across the road, while senior political leaders from Swapo, PDM, IPC, and NEFF, as well as senior police officers, helped cool tempers down.