DA's Helen Zille Allegedly Mandhandled by Cop Amid Voting in EC, Opens Assault Case

• DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille has opened a case against a police officer in Bethelsdorp
• Zille is claiming the officer manhandled her before forcing her out from a voting station in the area
• The Independent Police Investigative Directorate confirmed they were looking into the matter

GQEBERHA - Drama was the order of the day at the IEC's voting station in Bethelsdorp near Gqeberha after the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Federal Council chair Helen Zille was allegedly manhandled by a SAPS policeman.

Zille was at the Fernwood Park Primary School voting station to cast her vote on Monday when the alleged incident occurred.

TimesLIVE has since reported that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) was looking into the matter after a case of assault was opened against the police officer involved.

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The 70-year-old Zille alleged the officer forcefully dragged her from the venue, twisting her arm in the process after she'd walked down the long queue appealing to people to wait.

It's at the same time ANC observers at the station reportedly accused the veteran politician of canvassing for votes.

Alleged incident caught on camera

Zille further claimed the cop instructed her to leave the premises before threatening to arrest her and placing her in the back of a police van.

"Zille, who said the officer also pushed her, was frogmarched out of the station," SAPS spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu told the external publication.

News24 reported that the incident was caught on video, which Naidu confirmed was allegedly confiscated by the officer in question before later being returned.

Briefly News had not seen the footage of the alleged incident as at the time of publication.

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“An investigator is trying to get hold of Mrs Zille after the case was brought to Ipid's attention but has, so far, been unable to successfully contact her,” said Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Grace Langa.

DA claims a vote for ActionSA could mean EFF in power

In an earlier news story, Briefly News reported that members of the DA and ActionSA have their claws pointed at one another following a series of brutal comments.

According to DA Deputy Federal Council chair Thomas Walters, a vote for ActionSA is a vote for the EFF. In a letter, Walters claims current ActionSA leader Herman Meshaba unduly used his time as the Mayor of Johannesburg to lobby for the EFF, The Citizen reports.

"Mr Mashaba clearly sees the EFF as a partner, not a danger to the future of South Africa. EFF policies would take SA down the road to ruin, but Mr Mashaba sees them as a partner," he wrote.

Mashaba has since responded to the claims, calling the DA's stance "laughable" and "hypocritical" especially given the parties previously ubeat attidue at forming a coliition government with the EFF.

Source: Briefly News