Donkey assailant must clean Uitenhage SPCA for a year

A KwaNobuhle resident has been sentenced to a year of community service cleaning the SPCA’s Uitenhage premises for beating his donkeys with a sjambok until they bled.

Siyabonga Sitatu was sentenced in the KwaNobuhle Magistate’s Court this week after being found guilty in 2019.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Uitenhage inspector Mariaan Wentzel, who pressed the charge against Sitatu after an incident in 2018, said on Tuesday she was delighted with the sentence.

“It ensures a better record in the court for such cases.

“Donkeys are among the most abused animals. They are work animals but no-one has the right to abuse them.”

Wentzel said she had encountered Sitatu in KwaNobuhle on November 19 2018 when she was attending to complaints there.

He was driving a cart and was repeatedly whipping the three donkeys pulling the cart, she said.

“He was hitting them with a sjambok. He refused to stop when I instructed him to do so.

“The one donkey was pregnant and was seriously injured.

“The others had clearly visible bloody marks where they had been whipped.

“They were also underweight and had sores around their mouths from badly fitting bits.”

With the help of KwaNobuhle police she confiscated the animals and opened a case under the Animal Protection Act.

Sitatu, who is from Khayelitsha in KwaNobuhle, pleaded not guilty.

But in November 2019 magistrate Neil Caroll found him guilty, noting in his judgment that “animals also have feelings and feel pain just like people”.

After a delay to allow a correctional services report to be presented, Caroll sentenced Sitatu on Monday.

In terms of the sentence, he must do 12 months of correctional supervision and is confined to house arrest every night for that period from 6pm to 6am, at his home. 

“The accused shall perform free community service for a period of 16 hours per month for the full duration of the sentence.

“The community service will consist of general cleaning duty at the SPCA Uitenhage on Saturdays from 8am to noon.”

According to the sentence, Sitatu will be subjected to monitoring by the commissioner of correctional services to ensure compliance with the terms of the sentence, which are due to come into force on Monday.

“The court also orders that the accused should be deprived of ownership of the donkeys and ... is unfit to own or be in charge of a donkey.”

Prosecutor Carlin Mitchell said he was very pleased with the sentence. 

“It sets a precedent.”