On the 11th of May 2018, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA was alerted to the fact that a dog by the name of Benji had been very publicly stabbed to death by two men on the 10th of May 2018. The owner had subsequently buried Benji in his garden.
We immediately dispatched Inspector Siviwe Noko to the home in Khayelitsha where he had the grisly task of digging up Benji’s remains. These were taken directly to the State Vet for post mortem purposes. We were in the process of gathering further evidence when the video of the attack went viral on social media.
One man, Mr Sihle Mabambo was identified from the video and was arrested on the 28th of May 2018. He made his first court appearance on the 29th of May 2018.
11 months after the fact and after a large-scale manhunt that included the offering of a reward, the second accused in the violent and fatal stabbing of Benji was arrested late on the night of the 10th of April 2019. He made a brief appearance in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court on the 11th of April and was retained in custody until his bail hearing.
The trial of the first accused, Mr Sihle Mbambo was scheduled to start on the 11th of April but was then postponed following the arrest of the second accused who was granted time to obtain legal counsel. Mr Sihle Mbambo and Mr Mibongo Siyokwane of Khayelitsha are now both being held accountable for this heinous crime and are facing charges in respect of contraventions of The Animals Protection Act No.71 of 1962.
There have been several court appearances since the most recent being the 22nd of January 2021. There were also many postponements for reasons including Covid-19 and the non-appearance of the accused (which resulted in the execution of a warrant of arrest).
