ANC party agent dies at Limpopo voter station

A Limpopo ANC party agent died at a voter registration station in the Greater Letaba local municipality outside Modjadjiskloof on Sunday.

The ANC and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) have sent condolences to the family while police opened an inquest docket.

“We have learnt with sadness about the death of one of our party agents during this past weekend’s voter registration programme,” said Limpopo ANC provincial secretary Soviet Lekganyane. Lekganyane identified the party agent as Johanna Sehlaga.

He said Sehlaga collapsed and died. She was at the time serving as the ANC’s agent at the Nahakwe Secondary School voting district, in Lemondokop, within the Greater Letaba Sub-region. The incident happened between 4pm and 5pm.

The ANC said Sehlaga was the branch secretary of the party in ward 14 and had joined thousands of volunteers across the country to help with voter registrations.

“The ANC in Limpopo dips its revolutionary banner, in memory of this fallen giant, and will be sending a delegation to the Sehlaga family to convey its sincere condolences,” reads the party’s statement in part.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said: “We have opened an inquest docket. Our investigations will tell the exact course of the death.”

The IEC in the province was equally shocked and taken-abackby Sehlaga’s death.

“This incident left our officials traumatised and counselling is being arranged for them,” said IEC official Nkaro Mateta yesterday.

Mateta said during the voter registrations weekend, more than 238,000 people from Limpopo participated.