A tug of war over a voter led to a scuffle between two party officials in Bitou on Monday, leaving the elderly voter confused about all the attention.
ANC member Nomawethu Gwambi and the Active United Front’s Agcobile Nofele clashed over which party the elderly resident would choose to vote for.
Gwambi alleged that Nofele pushed her, which he denied.
This happened after both parties tried to give the Ward 6 resident a lift to the Simunye voting station.
Gwambi alleged she had been assaulted by Nofele.
“Last month, we applied for special votes for elderly people, including this woman, and she said she would vote for the ANC,” she said.
“The IEC never went to her home to allow her to vote.
“As we arrived with a taxi, the AUF taxi was already there.”
“I told [Nofele] to not argue and fight as it would spark something bigger than this.
“He started shouting and moving towards me, saying uthini mama [ what are you saying mother?] while moving towards me threateningly.
“He then grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me back,” she said.
Gwambi said her party members had been forced to intervene.
Nofele disputed that he had been violent.
“I merely tried to push her back. I had gone to the house as I am related to the family.
“I knew she was going to vote for the AUF because of this,” he said.
Nofele then contacted his party’s leadership and asked the woman to choose which taxi to use.
Gwambi said the woman had then been confused.
“I then approached the Kwanokuthula police station on how to deal with the matter.
“They called both of us and he [Nofele] apologised.
“I just say that they were feeling the pressure of our campaigning,” she said.
AUF leader Peter Lobese confirmed the incident, saying he had been called to the scene.
“The matter was reported to the police, but there was no case opened as it was a minor thing,” Lobese said.
ANC caucus leader Mphakamisi Mbali said: “Any person whose rights have been violated has the right to go to the police and report such matters.”
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