Mystery ballot boxes found in Police station

SEVERAL ballot boxes belonging to the Electoral Commission of Namibia, which might have been used by the ruling Swapo Party during its watershed congress five years ago, have been kept at a holding room in the Windhoek Central Police Station since then.

Photos taken at that Police station, obtained last week by the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and seen by The Namibian on Friday, reveal that some ballots are still in the boxes, which have been sealed. Some boxes had papers pasted on them with the words ‘Central Committee’ and ‘Deputy Secretary (General)’.A Police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner Hophni Hamufungu, said yesterday that he did not know about the ballot boxes. ‘I have no idea that ballot boxes are kept at that Police station,’ he told The Namibian. No comment could be obtained from Swapo. A message was left on Swapo Information Secretary Jerry Ekandjo’s mobile phone.Approached for comment, former ECN Director Philemon Kanime, who was in office until last year, told The Namibian that the ECN in principle lent ballot boxes to organisations if such a request is made.’But they should have been returned,’ he said. Kanime confirmed that the ECN kept a list of its ballot boxes, which are all numbered. According to NSHR Executive Director Phil ya Nangoloh, it appeared as if the ECN did not keep track of its ballot boxes. ‘Why did they land at the Police and for how long have they been stuck there?’ Ya Nangoloh asked when showing the photos he had obtained from a source on Friday.