Ward 27 residents in Gamalakhe on the KZN South Coast are still reeling in shock after waking up to find dogs devouring a newborn baby last Monday.

According to the South Coast Herald, residents are asking themselves who the mother of the baby is and where the dogs got the baby from.

Amahle Sikhosana, who woke up to her dogs feasting on the baby, said she will never forget what she saw.

“It was around 07:00 when we saw our dogs eating something in our yard. Initially, I thought it was a doll because I saw a leg, but when I went in for a closer look, I was shocked to see that it was an actual baby. My mother then asked me to call the police,” she said.

She added that her neighbour told her the dogs had started eating the child as early as 05:00.

“My neighbour told me that they didn’t pay attention to what the dogs were eating because they thought the dogs had stolen or found meat,” she said.

Describing what she saw, Sikhosana said half of the child’s skull was gone.

She said the remaining baby’s body parts she saw were the leg and stomach.

“Most of the baby’s body was already eaten by the dogs. I assume that maybe someone threw the baby over our fence for the dogs to eat it because most people know our dogs bite. For now, we can only assume what happened, but we are still traumatised,” she said.

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Gamalakhe police opened an inquest after the body of a newborn baby was found, allegedly bitten by dogs in the KwaXaba area of Gamalakhe.

Netshiunda said the circumstances leading to the baby’s death are being investigated.

Meanwhile, Ward 27 councillor Mdumiseni Cele has condemned the incident.

“This is disappointing and distasteful. We hope the mother will be found because we believe the baby did not magically appear in the Sikhosana homestead. We are of the view the child could have been hidden somewhere and the dogs dragged it out,” he said.

Cele added that there are government departments and organisations that assist mothers who are not ready to care for their newborns.

He said because this has been a traumatic experience for the Sikhosana family, he would reach out to the Department of Social Development to offer them psychosocial support.

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