In the Khayelitsha district of Cape Town, South Africa, Manono Makhaphela, the headmaster of Luhlaza Secondary School, decreed that a defenseless little dog with paralyzed legs should be buried alive since, in his judgment, she was a huge “nuisance.”

Makhaphela felt the urge to direct her janitors to get rid of this purported problem in the worst way possible as Lily was barking for food at the playground.

Thankfully, one of the cleaners, Bukelwa Mbulawa, made the choice to alert the Mdzanada Animal Clinic of what had transpired, sparing her life. A week after the event, on October 20, 2011, this woman was discharged.

Rescuers had to drive nearly 20 minutes to reach Lily, who was buried on the school’s tennis grounds just 1.5 meters away. She was transferred to a veterinary institution, where they were able to identify that the spinal cord injury she had previously undergone was what had caused the paralysis of her back legs. Thankfully, she did not acquire any severe wounds as a result of what had occurred.

Makhaphela was taken before the Khayelitsha Magistrates Court by the National Tax Authority, and Jane Levinson, the clinic’s project manager, provided testimony against him.

Makhaphela was found liable for cruelty, unnecessary suffering, and neglect of an animal. He was handed a 6,000 South African Rand fine, with half of it postponed for five years in return for his putting up a program at his school to increase awareness of animal protection.

Mdzananda Animal Clinic’s Fundraising and Media Manager, Marcelle du Plessis, stated “We appreciate the ministerial authorities taking this process, and we can only hope Mr. Makhaphela complies on July 18,” they stated. Depending on the growth of his educational program, he will be expected to submit a progress report to the Mdzananda Animal Clinic every six months for five years.

Although we are fully aware that we need to maintain a strict watch on Mr. Makhaphela, we are hoping that this is the start of Lily’s justice.

Don’t know of how long Lily has been alive, we will never give up on bringing her the justice she deserves. She worries more about establishing an example for future occurrences of animal maltreatment than merely one dog.

On the other hand, after being accused of animal maltreatment, Poto Mfengu and Mkhumbuzi Ncedana, the janitors in charge of burying this dog alive, were made to conduct 150 hours of community service at the Mdzananda Animal Clinic.