- Zimkitha Brenda Gaga was mauled to death by three pit bulls in Port Alfred.
- Gaga worked as a chef and manager at Judy’s Kitchen in the coastal city.
- Her boss, Judy Lottering, described her as a brilliant manager who was greatly loved.
The horrific death of Zimkitha Brenda Gaga, whose battered body was found on the side of a road, has left her colleagues shocked and saddened.
The 37-year-old mother suffered serious injuries to her face and upper body after she was bludgeoned to death by three pit bulls on Alfred Road in the small Eastern Cape coastal town of Port Alfred.
Gaga was attacked Sunday morning on her way to work at Judy’s Kitchen, where she was the head chef. “When we received the call, we were very shocked. My team was very traumatized… [we were all] crying.
It was a terrible day,” Judy Lottering, the restaurant’s owner, told News24. She said they were concerned when Gaga never showed up for work.
“We tried to find out where he was because he never missed work. The way she died was horrible. No one should die this way.”
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Lottering said it had known Gaga, who has three children ages 16 and 12 and an 8-month-old baby, since she was in her early 20s. The police opened an investigation file for investigation after the incident.
Eastern Cape Police spokeswoman Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the owner of the dogs lived nearby. “It is alleged that the dogs managed to escape from the secured property by damaging the perimeter fence,” Ella Naidu said. She said the SPCA had since taken the dogs away.
Gaga’s family requested privacy during this time.
Gaga earned her degree in hotel management from Stenden University South Africa in Port Alfred.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the tragic passing of one of our graduates, Brenda Gaga,” the institution said in a statement. “Condolences to her children and family. May her dear soul rest in peace.”
A series of pit bull attacks have been reported across the country in recent weeks.
Last week, a 15-month-old boy was killed by a pit bull at Gonubie Farm in east London, while 3-year-old Keketso Innocent Saule, from the Free State, was killed by two pit bulls.
