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"Curse of the raging bull!" - Daily Sun

The front page and lead story of SA's largest daily newspaper, August 1 2013

Daily Sun (August 1 2013) - IT WAS going to be a ritual slaughter of a bull to mark the death of Jackson Ntandiso . . . But his family chose the WRONG day, buried Jackson in the WRONG place - and they didn't LISTEN to the BULL!

THAT WAS WHY THE ANIMAL WENT MAD AND AYANDA MKENKU (10) WAS GORED TO DEATH! This is according to Ayanda's grieving family, who say the ancestors must have been angry to allow it to happen.

They say Jackson (58) was not buried according to his own wishes when the funeral took place last Saturday. Ayanda's uncle, Temba Nyama (51), told Daily Sun: "The Ntandiso family should not have held the slaughtering ritual on a Sunday. It is forbidden in Xhosa culture.

"We heard that the dead man had asked to be buried in the Eastern Cape and they did not follow his instructions. We were also told that when the family spoke to the bull, it shook its head, meaning the ritual was not blessed," said Nyama. "The ancestors must be angry with them."

Ayanda was gored to death by the bull which got out of control at the family home in Philippi East, Western Cape, knocked down a wall and charged down the street. Gogo Dora Mkenku (55) told Daily Sun she and Ayanda were about to go to church and Ayanda was waiting outside the house.

"I heard a commotion and a neighbour came and said Ayanda had been attacked. The animal apparently targeted Ayanda, who was sitting on the roadside," said Dora.

"When I went outside the street was full of people and it was chaotic. I saw Ayanda lying helpless in the street. I could see his bones were broken. It was not a good sight," said Dora.

"Dogs were barking at the animal.

"I picked up Ayanda and we took him to Mitchell Plain Hospital, where he was declared dead."

Ayanda's mother Nwabisa was too distraught to talk to Daily Sun.

Temba Nyama said the two families have decided to meet to decide on a way forward. "We have agreed they should pay for the funeral because Ayanda's mother and gogo are both unemployed," he said.

The Ntandiso family lives about 2km from Ayanda's home.

Yandiswa Ntandiso (36) told Daily Sun they bought the bull from a farm in Lansdowne. "It refused to go into the house the entire day. It eventually escaped and ran into the streets. A couple of hours later we heard that the child had been killed.

"We are deeply sorry. We take full responsibility for what happened," she said.

But she denied that her father Jackson had told them to bury him in the Eastern Cape. "Two of his children are buried in Cape Town and we thought it was right to bury him here.

"We consulted with elders of our family about slaughtering on a Sunday and they did not have a problem with it."

Ayanda was a grade 3 pupil at Faku Primary School and hoped to be a teacher.

) The bull died the following day. According to Temba Nyama, the SPCA told him it died because of stress. Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk confirmed the incident and the death. "An inquest docket was opened for investigation. No arrests have been made."

) A sangoma who calls herself Nobongoza told Daily Sun: "To perform such a ritual on a Sunday is forbidden in the Xhosa culture. And doing the ritual the day after the funeral was also not right.

"The slaughtering ritual should perhaps have been done a year later when the family was unveiling the tombstone. They must consult a traditional healer who will tell them what to do next. It does not seem as if their ancestors are happy," she said.

See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 330 000 and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

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