Toddler mauled by dogs

Angry Cape Flats community members went on the rampage yesterday to avenge the fatal mauling of a toddler by a pack of dogs, killing every dog they could lay their hands on.

Three-year-old Philasande Mpokotho died tragically on Tuesday after he and his four-year-old sister were attacked by a pack of stray black dogs while they played inside their parents' shack just after 9am.

Just before lunch time yesterday, furious residents of the Sweet Water Farm informal settlement in Philippi attacked every dog they came across, saying they wanted to prevent other children from meeting a similar fate.

A black dog walking between the shacks tried to duck under an old car, but a hail of stones, rocks and sticks drove it out. The dog died after it was bludgeoned with a spade and was dragged into the open, where another dog lay dead. The crowd stood over them, urging dog owners to kill theirs.

The victim's 19-year-old mother, Yonela Mpokotho, had gone to the communal toilet when the dogs attacked the children, ripping Philasande's head open.

They then dragged him out into the yard, leaving a trail of blood behind them.

The grieving mother said she received a call from a friend shortly after leaving the shack informing her that her son had died.

"When I got here I found a group of people gathered around my son, who was lying in the yard dead. I had never seen these dogs before. I had only heard about them," she said.

The child's father, Mbuyiselo Pere, 40, said the area should be rid of all dogs.

"We moved into this area just a month ago and now my child is dead."

Monica Waka said this was the fourth incident in which dogs attacked small children in the informal settlement. She said she feared for her three-year-old daughter's life.

"We don't want these dogs here. How will our children grow if they are under siege from dogs?"

The SPCA has so far collected more than 70 dogs to prevent them from being killed in the same way .

Spokesman Lamees Martin said: "We have a team of inspectors going to each street telling people that we are there to help and to take any surrendered animals. We are also trying to track down the dogs that allegedly attacked the toddler."

According to police, the seven dogs belonged to a man who abandoned them at his house and left for the Eastern Cape a while ago.

SPCA inspector Moyo Dukwana said they would remain in the informal settlement until tomorrow and would perform postmortems on the two dogs stoned to death yesterday to determined whether they were among those that killed Philasande.

Police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel André Traut said police had opened and inquest docket into the child's death.