Stefanus Nashama
Matheus Mhani, the presiding officer for the Windhoek Rural Constituency during the 2024 presidential and national assembly elections, has denied allegations of election rigging involving 500 000 ballot papers reportedly filled in favour of Swapo.
The allegations, circulating on WhatsApp and other social media platforms, accuse Mhani, a member of the Namibian Police, Gidein Shino, and the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) officials of plotting to manipulate results.
“Those are false allegations. I am not the author. I do not know who is trying to use my name in connection with things that are not true. Even the name appearing in the allegations is misspelt,” Mhani stated.
The WhatsApp message claims that ballot papers were secretly marked in the presence of Mhani and Officer Shino.
The message further claims that Peter Shaama, the chief electoral and referenda officer of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), and Swapo secretary general Sophia Shaningwa met with President-Elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah at State House to plan the alleged rigging.
During the meeting, the group allegedly plotted to manipulate the election results, particularly in Windhoek, Erongo, the four O-regions, and Kavango.
The message also states that Mhani transported ballots to a house in Ludwigsdorf to be filled in after a presiding officer at Finkenstein, Amanda Hausiku, reportedly informed him of a ballot shortage.
Mhani rejected the allegations as baseless, citing high voter turnout as the reason for a temporary ballot shortage.
“The elections were free and fair. There is nothing wrong with my supervision or administration. People must grow up and learn to tell the truth, not create stories that cannot be proven,” he emphasised.
He explained that his constituency experienced a high turnout of voters, with over 400 individuals coming from other areas like Windhoek and Okahandja, which led to a temporary shortage of ballots.
“These ballots were distributed based on the number of registered voters in the area,” he said.
Although there was a high turnout of voters in his constituency, Mhani assured that no delays exceeded 30 minutes and that all voters were given the opportunity to cast their votes.
“To address the shortage, ballots were borrowed from neighbouring stations,” he said.
He also denied knowing the police officer named in the allegations and refuted claims that he had received death threats.
“Even the police officer mentioned in the allegations, I do not know him. I have nothing to do with such fabricated stories. I have never been threatened or received any death threats from anyone,” he said.
Mhani reiterated that he is not affiliated with any political party and urged the public to focus on more pressing issues.
“People to stop spreading false stories that have no basis.
Hausiku said she was not aware of the allegations, but elections went well at Finkenstein.
“I am not aware of the allegations. But that is not true. People are busy. That is all I can say,” she said.
Several attempts to get a comment from the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) were unsuccessful.
The Commission’s spokesperson, DeWet Siluka, could not answer calls or respond to WhatsApp messages sent to him by the time of publishing.
