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Leonard Ncube Court Reporter
FIVE polling officers from Bulawayo have been arrested for allegedly allowing an unregistered person to cast a vote, in violation of the Electoral Act. Simiphi Moyo (56), Julian Nkiwane (40), Nomvuyo Nkomo (47), Sinikiwe Siziba (38) and Sifelimpilo Simanga (39) were not formally charged in terms of Section 85(1)(b) of the Electoral Act Chapter 02:13, which criminalises supplying a ballot paper to an unregistered person.
They appeared before Mr Crispen Mberewere at the Electoral Court in Bulawayo yesterday.
The five were employed by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to conduct the harmonised elections at Hillside Junior School polling station.
Moyo of 8 B Tait Road in Four Winds and Nkiwane of 37 Jakaranda Avenue Sauerstown are both teachers at Hillside Junior while Nkomo of 2722 Cowdray Park is a lecturer at the United College of Education.
Siziba of 5493 Cowdray Park is a teacher at Mahlathini Primary School while Simanga of 17 Annabel Drive in Four Winds is also a teacher at Mzilikazi Primary School.
Moyo was the presiding officer for the station assisted by Nkiwane who was a recorder while Nkomo, Siziba and Simanga were usher and polling officers respectively.
They were all remanded to 22 August on $100 bail each.
Allegations as presented by Mr Tinashe Dzipe are that on 31 July, a prospective voter, Christopher David Rodgers, who is also facing a charge of unconstitutionally voting, went to Hillside Junior School B polling station intending to vote.
He allegedly produced a passport to Nkomo at the door who directed him to Siziba and Simanga.
When Rodgers’ name could not be found on the voters’ roll, Siziba and Simanga allegedly directed him to Moyo and Nkiwane but did not tell them that his name was missing.
Instead of verifying Rodgers’ name on the roll, Moyo and Nkiwane allegedly directed him to Ms Nozipho Jason Moyo, Mr Divhan Eunice Mlauzi and Ms Dinah Hungwe to give him three ballot papers.
The court was told that an alert police officer manning the polling station queried why Rodgers had been given the ballot papers when he was not registered but got no response from the five accused persons.
The police officer allegedly waited until Rodgers had cast his vote and arrested him.
A report was made to the police leading to Moyo, Nkiwane, Nkomo, Siziba and Simanga’s arrest.
Rodgers, whose name was supposed to be recorded on the list of those who were turned away, was also granted $100 bail.
He was also ordered to report to Criminal Investigations Department Law and Order Section and to surrender his travelling documents.
On Monday, four people appeared before the same court facing charges of unlawfully announcing elections results before the official announcement by Zec.
Isaac Mberi (60) and Eveline Dube (66) were jointly charged while Phanuel Dodzo (40) and Thandolwethu Paul Ndlovu (25) appeared separately.
The four were allegedly separately found with V11 forms, which are used for collation of final election results.
Mberi and Dube of 2988 and 2789 both in Emakhandeni, were arrested on Wednesday at Mtshingwe Primary School polling station in Emakhandeni when an alert Zanu-PF election agent, Cde Doris Zhou, allegedly spotted them with the forms.
Mberi and Dube are on $20 bail and would be back in court tomorrow.
Dodzo, of 7584/28 Tshabalala and employed by TelOne in Belmont, was also remanded to the same date on $50 bail.
He was arrested on Thursday at Mahlabezulu Primary School in Tshabalala where he was an election agent representing MDC-T when other agents noticed that he was allegedly in possession of V11 forms.
He had allegedly already completed one of the forms with election results.
Ndlovu, of 22 Croome Road in Montrose, was arrested at Sidojiwe polling station on Thursday morning when he was found in possession of results for the polling station, which he had filled on the V11 form.
He was also remanded to tomorrow on $50 bail.
Leonard Sibanda (53), a teacher at Emganwini Primary School who initially appeared before the same court on Friday for disorderly conduct at a polling station was convicted on his own plea of guilty and fined $100 or 45 days in prison.
Appearing before Mr Shepherd Mjanja at the Electoral Court in Gokwe, Innocent Dope (23) was sentenced to an effective eight months in prison for tearing off ballot papers while in the voting booth.
Dope was convicted on his own plea of guilty and was sentenced to 12 months in prison but will serve an effective eight months after four months were suspended for three years on condition of good behaviour.
Online Reporter