The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is currently investigating a security breach that occurred at their headquarters in Harare over the weekend.
Three laptops were stolen during a break-in that took place early on Sunday, two of which belonged to the chief elections officer, Utloile Silaigwana, and the third assigned to his secretary, Isabel Mariwowo.
It is not yet known if the laptops contained any sensitive information, but the theft is particularly concerning as it occurred less than a month before the upcoming general elections. The incident was discovered by Mariwowo when she arrived at work on Sunday and noticed that her electrical appliances were switched off. Upon further investigation, she realized that her Dell laptop was missing, and two laptops assigned to Silaigwana – an HP Pro Book and a Mac Book Pro – were also stolen.
According to an internal police memo seen by ZimLive, the window of Silaigwana’s office was broken with a stone, which was found on the floor. The theft was reported to the authorities, and ZEC is currently investigating the incident.
At this point, it is unclear who is responsible for the break-in and theft, but ZEC has been contacted for comment, and updates will be provided as they become available.
