Uncle Kathy votes at Wits
Ahmed Kathrada was assisted at the Wits polling station by Gauteng Premier David Makhura. He was accompanied by his partner, former minister of public enterprises Barbara Hogan. Ahmed Kathrada was assisted at the Wits polling station by Gauteng Premier David Makhura. He was accompanied by his partner, former minister of public enterprises Barbara Hogan.
Johannesburg - It was fitting that anti-apartheid stalwart Ahmed Kathrada cast his vote at a tertiary education centre at Wits today, as his message on Election Day was to the youth of South Africa.
“The youth need to take advantage – the future of the country belongs to the young people. We have a lively democracy and after such a long struggle, it is important for every person of age to vote. If they want to be heard, the only way is the ballot.”
Kathrada was assisted at the Wits polling station by Gauteng Premier David Makhura. He was accompanied by his partner, former public enterprises minister, Barbara Hogan. The station was expecting around 2 500 voters during the course of the day.
On arrival, the three walked together to the voting area and inside, Makhura showed “Uncle Kathy” where to place his ballot paper.
Kathrada celebrates his 87 th Birthday this month. Earlier this year, he publicly expressed his dissatisfaction at Zuma’s leadership.
Makhura escorted the pair back to their car and was expected to go directly to the Gauteng Provincial Police headquarters where he would sit down with SAPS and identify potential hotspots.
“We can’t say where there will be problems – we will identify stations where there are potential polls where there were tensions based on the regions. We have 16 000 law enforcement officers deployed to deal with any issues.”
@SamHartsie
Elections Bureau