Boy, 4, mauled to death by two dogs while retrieving ball

A four-year-old boy has been mauled to death by two pit bulls while playing rugby outside his home.

The incident took place in the town of Gugulethu in the South African province of Western Cape on January 3.

Little Milani Keke, 4, was playing rugby when his ball ended up in the neighbour’s garden and he went to get it.

While fetching his ball, the toddler was attacked by his neighbour’s two pit bulls.

Milani’s mother Nothemba Keke was inside the house when she heard her daughter screaming out: “Mama come out, Milani is being attacked by dogs.”

“I was inside the house with his mother when we heard cries outside,” local resident Unathi Dunda, who witnessed the event, said.

“When we stepped outside, the dogs were already attacking him.

“While trying to pull him away, one of the dogs grabbed him by the shoulder and hit him on the wall and he became unconscious.”

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Mxolisi Keke, a relative of the victim, described the boy as a very loving child who loved to talk and joke around, and who aspired to become president one day.

“It is still painful to the family to comprehend the manner in which Milani died,” he told local media.

“We will wait on the police to release their findings and hopefully the law will take its course.”

Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana has announced an investigation has been initiated, but no arrests have been made yet.

Law enforcement seized the dogs from their owner and they are being looked after by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

The owner of the pit bulls has so far refused to comment on the incident.

Milani was buried just a day before his fifth birthday on Sunday.

– Australscope

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