Bodyguard in dog-shooting video scandal
A KWAZULU-Natal deputy mayor looks set to face criminal charges after a man believed to be his bodyguard was filmed shooting a dog with a high-calibre rifle.
Graphic footage of the incident was widely circulated on social media at the weekend.
In the video, a man can be seen opening fire on a dog that has been chained to a fence.
The dog writhes and cries and he continues to shoot at it.
Eventually, it collapses in a heap on the ground.
A man understood to be the deputy mayor of Mthonjaneni, on the KZN North Coast, Philani Ntombela, can be seen in the background, egging the gunman on.
Ntombela was not available for comment yesterday but on Friday, confirmed to an online news site that it was him and his bodyguard in the clip.
He told the website the dog had been “terrorising” the locals and attacking their livestock.
“If you look closely in the video‚ you can see there is the owner of the dog as well‚ who gave us permission to kill it,” he was quoted as saying.
The spokesperson for the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), Meg Wilson, yesterday told The Star that the Eshowe SPCA was handling the matter.
Wilson said they were opening a criminal case against the deputy mayor and his bodyguard. As per their information, on Friday afternoon SPCA inspectors had arrived at the scene to find four dogs had been shot.
“One was still alive and was taken to the vet,” she said.
She said investigations suggested this was not the first time the deputy mayor had been behind the shooting of a dog for eating livestock and he had shot – or had someone else shoot – his own dogs before.
Ntombela’s party, the IFP, yesterday expressed an “unwavering condemnation of any form of cruelty to animals”.
But deputy national spokesperson Joshua Mazibuko said he had not seen the video and so it was “impossible for the IFP to pronounce a precisely wellinformed position on the matter”.
Regardless, he said, the party was calling on the relevant authorities to conduct an urgent investigation.
“We will closely monitor how the relevant authorities deal with this case so it is swiftly brought to finality and if anyone is found guilty, justice is seen to be done,” Mazibuko said.
The leader of the DA in KZN, Zwakele Mncwango, has labelled the incident “criminal” and said he hoped the culprits would be brought to book.
“We expect people in higher office to take full responsibility and it was irresponsible for someone in that position to be a part of that, let alone get involved. It’s cruel,” he said.
“We should be protecting animals and not victimising them. I’m not sure what message that deputy mayor is sending.”
Mncwango said those behind the incident needed to be held to account.
“It’s shocking to see someone abusing a gun like that and using it on an animal in such a cruel manner.”
The KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has condemned the video and in a statement called it “horrific”, and the gunman’s behaviour “callous” and “insensitive”.
“This conduct is unacceptable, particularly from someone expected to set an example in his community as an elected public representative,” said MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
“We add our voice to all those calling for a full investigation. We call for stern disciplinary action should the investigation confirm the allegations of animal cruelty and intimidation of the community. Such behaviour cannot be tolerated.”