Police confirm inquiry into MK party’s ‘forged’ signatures

National police commissioner Fannie Masemola has confirmed an inquiry has been opened to investigate the alleged forged signatures on the MK party’s list submitted to the IEC.

This comes after Lennox Ntsodo, a former senior official of the party, said it had forged signatures to secure its registration for the 2024 ballot.

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Inquiry opened

Speaking to News24 on Tuesday, Masemola said, “There’s an inquiry that is open at the Cape Town central police station. It [the inquiry] is at the initial stage.

“We are still trying to verify if there’s really a case. If there’s a case, we’ll transfer the matter to the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] for a decision.”

City Press reported that Ntsodo claimed the party also allegedly fraudulently obtained the names, identity numbers, and cellphone numbers of jobseekers from a database of the Cape Metro Council.

Ntsodo alleged in his statement that he and the rest of the team had worked for about two weeks at the house of MK party secretary-general in Pinelands, Cape Town, compiling the forged lists. Moosa is South Africa’s former ambassador to Qatar.

Ntsodo claimed he had reported the team’s daily progress to Moosa and Fumanekile “Fatty” Booi, the Western Cape chairperson of the party.

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Moosa and Booi have both denied the allegations.

IEC urges police to expedite investigation

IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said they had noted media inquiries and reports alleging the party submitted fraudulent signatures in fulfilment of the candidate nomination requirements and that a criminal complaint has been filed with police.

“The commission calls on crime investigation authorities to expedite the investigations to establish the verity of the allegations. An expeditious investigation is essential for the conduct of free and fair elections.

The Citizen has contacted the MK party for comment. This will be added to the article once it is received.

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel.