Nailed for dog fight video: SPCA probe finds Manenberg man guilty
A Manenberg man accused of letting his pit bull take part in dogfighting matches has been found guilty by the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court following an investigation by the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.
Nearly two years after he was busted, Nadeem Maddatt, 28, pleaded guilty to the charges after video footage of the fights were leaked.
According to a statement by the SPCA, Inspector Mark Syce became aware of the dogfighting videos on 31 May 2021 and spearheaded the investigation by obtaining a court order.
“I went into the office to assemble the paperwork to obtain a court order at Wynberg Magistrates’ Court.
“Afterwards I met up with my Chief Inspector Jaco Pieterse, members of Law Enforcement and members of the Manenberg SAPS to assist me with carrying out the court order,” Syce explains.
He says the next day they arrived at Maddatt’s Manenberg home and immediately noticed that the property was the same location in the video, but Maddatt was sleeping.
“We found Mr. Nadeem Madatt in the room fast asleep in his bed.
“We woke him up and found a brown female pit bull chained in his room in the corner by the entrance to his room.
“Pieterse asked him for his phone and Nadeem unlocked it and we looked in his phone’s gallery and WhatsApp for any evidence of the dog fighting videos.
“In the WhatsApp videos folder we found two videos of the dog fighting.
“The brown female pit bull is the same as the one in the video.
“Nadeem Madatt was detained and taken to SAPS Manenberg.
“We seized two pit bull dogs from the property, both were chained inadequately.”
Syce says Madatt admitted to using his dogs for fighting matches but claimed he did not know the owner of the other dog being mauled by his dog in the video.
“The accused was sentenced with a R5 000 fine or three months imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years on condition that the accused is not convicted on further charges of animal fighting,” says Syce.
“If an accused person pleads guilty and does not waste the court’s time, they are generally given a more lenient sentence.
body.copy.three...: “The Cape of Good Hope SPCA is grateful for the successful conviction, however, disappointed in the lenient sentence handed down in this matter.”
monique.duval@inl.co.za