Cape Town - The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has lodged a complaint against the Harare SAPS for allegedly releasing a suspect arrested for dogfighting without formally charging him.
The SPCA said it received information about dogfighting at a property in Monwabisi Park, Khayelitsha last month.
The SPCA raided the property and found several dogs living on short, static chains and several presented with scarring patterns synonymous with dog fighting.
A dog fighting pit, complete with blood evidence, was also found on the property.
SPCA spokesperson Belinda Abraham said the suspect was arrested and handed over to Harare SAPS where he was detained.
“A criminal docket was opened by our inspectors but unfortunately the Harare SAPS failed to register the case and released the suspect without following due process,” she said.
Abraham said a formal complaint was lodged with the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and the police in the province against the police station for allegedly failing to register the case, and allegedly releasing the suspect without formally charging him.
“The SPCA faultlessly followed due process but have since, as a result of the inadequacies, apathy and incompetence of the SAPS Harare office, faced a ruthless onslaught by way of a barrage of false accusations, including an alleged infringement of the accused’s human rights.
“The SPCA is an organisation that holds a deep respect for the law, and we would never proceed with an arrest unless we had compelling reasons to do so,” she said.
IPID told the Cape Times that the matter was a service delivery complaint which IPID did not deal with, and that its office was not aware of any such case reported to it.
Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said the case docket was with the Senior Public Prosecutor for a decision.
“The matter you are referring to is still under investigation. Detectives are following up all leads. No arrests has been made yet. The investigation continues,” he said.
Cape Times