Boyfriend of pit bull attack victim to appear in court
A 42-year-old man is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court on Thursday for the death of his girlfriend who was attacked by his three pit bulls on Monday.
The horrific incident, in which the 28-year-old woman was severely mauled, took place at Namibia Square in Bloemfontein. Her partner was at work during the attack.
Police spokesperson Lt-Col Thabo Covane said the man was arrested at 9pm on Tuesday for violation of the Animal Matters Amendment Act No. 40 of 1993.
The dogs attacked the woman about 3pm on Monday.
It is also alleged the fourth dog, with newborn puppies, tried to fight the other dogs off the helpless woman but in vain.
Covane confirmed the three dogs have been put down while the dog with puppies was taken away to a safe place together with its litter.
“Police rushed to the scene and found the 28-year-old victim lying on the ground, severely bitten by the dogs. The injuries were mostly in the lower parts of the body. Members at the scene had to put down three of the dogs, and the other was taken to safety with its puppies by the local SPCA,” Covane said.
He added that the paramedics declared the victim dead at the scene. Investigation into the case continue, he said.
In April 2023, Sizwe Kupelo Foundation handed in a petition with 139,000 signatures to former minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development Thoko Didiza calling for the ban of pit bull as domestic pets due to deadly attacks on people.
The petition was launched after the nation was horrified by ongoing pit bull attacks on people, including women and children.
During the petition handing over, the department announced that it would carry out a comprehensive DNA analysis of pit bull and pit bull-type dogs to establish what makes the dogs violent.
Approached on Wednesday, the patron of the foundation, Sizwe Kupelo, said the department last communicated with him on that day and has not given him any feedback since last year.
Kupelo said: “This is clearly a dereliction of duty by the government, and victims should file lawsuits against government.”
Agriculture ministry spokesperson Reggie Ngcobo promised to respond to questions later. His response will be added once received.