Limpopo woman attacked by two pit bulls laid to rest

A 43-year-old Limpopo woman, who was mauled by two pit bulls recently, was laid to rest at Makgato village in the Senwabarwana area, west of Polokwane.

Melitah Sekole was attacked by pit bulls while walking from her rental accommodation to her workplace in the farming town of Vivo.

Family and friends described her as a bubbly and peaceful woman. A large number of mourners attended the funeral service of Sekole at Makgato village.

Villagers, Melitah’s coworkers, and political party representatives were among those in attendance.
Mourners were saddened by the manner in which she died.

Sekole was in the hospital for a week before she died. The bereaved family is still struggling to come to terms with what happened.

Melitah’s son, Itumeleng Sekole, says his mother’s death has forced him into a new life as a breadwinner.

“It is heavy to carry but it is something that I have to carry. I have to persevere, I have to make sure that I don’t break. Because if I break, my siblings will break and there is nothing that can come out of that,” says Itumeleng Sekole.

Sekole family seeks justice following fatal pit bull attack: 

Friends and colleagues have described her as a jolly, bubbly and ever-smiling person.

“Melitah was a quiet person as she has already been described. You only heard her through her laughter, her laughter was what brought us joy. A good colleague who was easy to work with.”

Regional African National Congress (ANC) Women’s League representative, Mmamoloko Mmoko says that they will be talking to the local government in the area to teach pit bull owners how to handle the animals. Mmoko says there should be by-laws to regulate the acquisition of pit bull dogs.

“We can’t allow our people to have pit bull dogs, why are they keeping those dogs because those dogs are very dangerous? We will also engage with the municipal to have by-laws that will guide us on how we should treat our dogs at home and which dogs we should keep at home because you can’t keep a dangerous dog at home knowing very well that it will eat people,” says Mmoko.

Meanwhile, the owner of the two pit bulls, Nchabeleng Masebe is in police custody. He faces a charge of culpable homicide and will appear in the Senwabarwana Magistrate’s Court for a bail application on Thursday next week.

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