WATCH | ‘It happened so quickly, I was holding his hand’: grandmother of 8-year-old mauled by pit bull

When eight-year-old Olebogeng Mosime was laid to rest on Friday, his grandmother Siphiwe Litabe had not eaten since his death.

“My last meal was with him,” she said.

Olebogeng was mauled to death by a pit bull on November 12 while playing at his home in Bloemfontein.

Speaking to TimesLIVE Premium, his grandmother described him as a loving, caring, compassionate and giving boy whose laugh, hugs and jokes would be missed dearly.

Litabe and a few other family members had just come home on November 12 from a day of shopping in preparation for a wedding. They also enjoyed lunch at McDonald’s, Olebogeng’s favourite, before tragedy struck.

Litabe had been holding on to her grandson’s hand in fear minutes before his life was taken by the neighbour’s pit bull dog, which had escaped its enclosure, entered through the palisade and hidden in the Litabes’ garage in Vista Park. 

“The garage door was open, and my daughter came in screaming ‘Mama, mama, there are dogs in the yard,'” said Litabe.

Olebogeng and his grandmother peeked through the window to see what was happening.

The neighbours shouted to the Litabes to pass them their gate key so they could retrieve their dog. As Olebogeng, did so, he was fatally attacked by the dog and dragged by the throat.

“It happened so quickly,” said Litabe.

She said she was angered by her neighbours’ unwillingness to do anything about their dogs.

“It’s not the first time the dog was in our yard or even running around the street. I’ve asked her many times to do something. It’s like we were under house arrest,” she said.

She also called on the community to stop spreading misinformation and images surrounding her grandson’s death.

“They must stop because they weren’t there. Those who live around us know this dog has been terrorising us.”

In the days leading up to Olebogeng’s funeral, Litabe said she was extremely hurt but was comforted by his peers, teachers and community members, who spoke highly of him.

“We will remember him every day even though it’s painful. I have faith we will be OK,” she said.

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