Four suspects aged between 16 and 20 were arrested after a Hanover Park police attack on Wednesday, 4 November 2026, when stones and beer bottles were thrown at officers near the Hanover Park Civic Centre voting station.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), Anti-Gang Unit members deployed as part of the security operations for the local government elections intervened shortly after 10:00, when two groups were throwing stones at each other. One group then turned on the officers, pelting them with stones and beer bottles.
What happened in the Hanover Park police attack
The officers calmed the situation at first, but one member sustained an injury to his left hand and fired three warning shots to disperse the attackers and restore order. Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said Public Order Police members were then called in to secure the scene. He said:
Public Order Police members responded to stabilise the area. No community members were injured.
Hanover Park suspects and charges
Four suspects aged between 16 and 20 were arrested, and a case of public violence and attack on police has been registered. Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects are allegedly affiliated with a criminal gang operating in the area. They have not been named or charged, and are expected to appear in the Athlone Magistrates’ Court once charged.
Police say voting continued in Hanover Park
Police said the incident did not affect or disrupt the election process and that voting continued uninterrupted. The statement, issued by the office of the Western Cape provincial commissioner, said officers would stay in the area to protect voters:
Police remain deployed to maintain law and order and will not allow acts of lawlessness to derail the electoral process or prevent voters from exercising their democratic rights in a safe and secure environment.
Hanover Park, on the Cape Flats, has seen repeated gang violence in recent days. Two men, aged 46 and 19, were shot dead in separate attacks on Saturday, 31 October 2026, in John Vlei Walk and Surran Road, and three other people were wounded. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said the motives were believed to be gang related.
Additional officers were sent to crime hotspots, transport hubs and taxi routes ahead of polling day, and planned leave was cancelled to keep full numbers. Western Cape Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Sizakhele Dyantyi said police would stay focused on the voting stations:
We’ll remain focused with the elections in the polling station
Deputy National Commissioner for Policing Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili, who chairs the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), said ahead of the vote that police would respond to criminal conduct around the elections. He said:
No individual or organisation has the right to obstruct voting stations, threaten electoral officials, intimidate voters
By Monday, 2 November 2026, police had registered 139 election-related criminal dockets nationally, leading to 48 arrests. Mosikili expressed particular concern about killings involving political representatives, party members and supporters. The statement did not link the Hanover Park incident to any political party or candidate.
Sources
- South African Police Service, Office of the Provincial Commissioner: Western Cape, Police arrest four suspects following attack on officers in Hanover Park (media release, 4 November 2026)
- Daily Voice, Police deploy extra officers to Western Cape hotspots ahead of election
- EWN, Two shot dead in separate Hanover Park attacks
- Smile 90.4FM, Alleged gang members attack SAPS at Hanover Park voting station
- Swisher Post, Local government elections 2026: How to vote on polling day
