Orphan killed by lions 'after being led into enclosure by park worker'

South African police say they are treating the death of Nkalemelo Latha as manslaughter

Nkalemelo Latha was mauled to death after being attacked by a lioness (Getty Images)

South African police are investigating allegations that a wildlife sanctuary worker left a child alone in a lion enclosure where he was mauled to death.

Nkalemelo Latha was killed at the Otavi wildlife sanctuary in Parys after the worker, identified only as Rasta, allegedly stole keys to the enclosure and led him inside.

Rasta, who is in his thirties and had worked at the park for six months, told police he had run to get help after the lioness pounced on the boy.

He claimed he had also been mauled by a male lion while trying to mount a rescue.

Staff working at a neighbouring enclosure reported hearing screams and rushing over to see Nkalemelo being mauled by two lions.

One staff member drove a truck into the enclosure to scare the animals away and found Nkalemelo on the ground, unconscious, with bite marks on his head and neck. He died shortly afterwards.

The Times reported that the 12-year-old had been adopted by his uncle, who is a supervisor on the estate, earlier this year after his parents died.

Ina Human, the park’s manager, said: “I can’t understand why this man decided to steal the keys to get into the enclosure.”

The park’s owner, Louis Pulzone, wrote on Facebook: “Otavi takes the utmost precautions to prevent any tragedies from happening; yesterday was a truly a tragic day for us and we will mourn the death of this boy for years to come.

“We have to live with the consequences that we could not prevent this employee from stealing keys out of the office and thus gained access to the enclosure.”

Local police said they are investigating the incident as culpable homicide, the South African equivalent of manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.