Judgment day for deputy mayor accused of shooting dog

The animal cruelty case against Mthonjaneni deputy mayor Philani Ntombela, who was implicated in the gruesome shooting of a dog, is to be finalised at the end of February.

The National Council for Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) filed charges against Ntombela and his two bodyguards, Bongani Shabalala and Halalisani Biyela, following a 2017 video clip in which a tied-up dog is seen being shot in Melmoth, northern KwaZulu-Natal.

In the video, a man with a rifle aims and shoots at least four times at the dog on a pathway in a rural area, but the bullets fail to silence its yelping. Onlookers can be heard muttering and cheering while Ntombela looks on approvingly.

In a statement on Friday, the NSPCA said: "The Eshowe SPCA inspector attended to the complaint as soon as he was made aware of the situation and found the dog still alive with multiple gunshot wounds. Five days had lapsed and not a single person sought help for this animal, allowing it to suffer for a prolonged time."

At the time of the incident, Ntombela told TimesLIVE that the dog had been terrorising the community. 

The NSPCA had originally laid a complaint against the dog's owner, along with the three men, but he is not currently facing charges. 

NSPCA's Meg Wilson said the three men had pleaded not guilty and the matter was set down for judgment on February 25 at the Melmoth Magistrate's Court.

Ntombela didn't respond to queries.