Neighbour skins and eats dog
Mdantsane police arrest man after gruesome find
AMAN from Mdantsane was arrested at the weekend after he allegedly stole, killed, skinned, then ate his neighbour’s dog.
Siphiwo Monco and an unidentified friend, who is still on the run from police, were caught by dog owner Njongo Mgayi just hours after the pet disappeared on Friday from his NU2 home.
The dog skin, head and paws were allegedly found in a house close to Mgayi’s home.
Mdantsane police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi yesterday confirmed the incident and the arrest of Monco on Saturday.
Mbi said Monco was facing charges of theft and cruelty to animals.
He appeared in the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court yesterday and was granted R800 bail.
He is due to appear in court again on February 2.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch at the weekend, a distraught Mgayi said the incident had left him and his family emotionally traumatised.
He said he had met Monco on his way to work on Friday evening and they had a brief chat.
“When I came back on Saturday morning, I discovered that my dog was not on its chain and could not be found nearby.
“I walked around the neighbourhood asking if anyone had seen my dog.
“Two boys from the neighbourhood told me that they had heard a terrible cry from a dog after midnight inside a house just next to mine,” related Mgayi.
He said he went inside the house and to his shock “there was blood everywhere in one of the rooms, and my dog’s skin, head and paws were lying inside the dilapidated house’s dining room.
“I found the man and his friend inside the house and there was a pot where they had cooked the dog meat, which they had already eaten.
“When I inquired, they confessed to stealing and eating my dog, saying they had thought it was one of the wild animals which people can eat,” said Mgayi.
He said he immediately summoned police who arrived at the scene and arrested Monco, but the friend fled before they arrived.
Mgayi said the gruesome act had left his wife and two daughters, aged six and seven, “very emotional”.
He said he had trusted his neighbour and they had been on good terms “until this painful, cruel and barbaric deed”.
Mgayi said community members who gathered outside the crime scene on Saturday were also “shocked” at what had transpired.
A neighbour, who refused to identify himself, told the Dispatch that they had heard the dog’s cries early on Saturday morning.
“We did not know what was happening, but we knew there was something wrong being done to the dog as its screams were unbearable.
“When we met (Mgayi) the following morning saying he was looking for his dog, we knew that it was the one we heard screaming,” said the neighbour.
He said community members were shocked.
Mgayi said the matter was reported to the SPCA. However, East London spokesman Lionel Taylor yesterday said he was not aware of the incident.