Accused of feeding pigs after killing two black women
October 3, 20242 Mins Read
International Desk: A white farmer and his two workers have been accused of shooting dead two black women and feeding the corpses to pigs. BBC reports that the incident took place last August on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa's North Limpopo province. BBC news.
black woman
Maria McGato (45) and Lucia Ndlovu (34) were shot dead when they were looking for food at the farm. Their bodies were allegedly fed to pigs to destroy evidence.
A court has started bail hearings for farm owner Zakaria Johannes Olivier, 60, and two of his employees, Adrian De Wet, 19, and William Musora, 50, ahead of the murder trial.
Protesters with placards protested outside the court in Polokwane demanding that the suspects be denied bail. The family of the victim and the accused were present in the court. Magistrate Ntilen Phelong allowed the media to video the controversial murder hearing in the public interest.
He later adjourned the bail hearing till November 6 for further investigation. The suspects will remain in police custody until then.
McGatow's brother, Walter Mathole, told the BBC that the incident had exacerbated racial tensions between black and white South Africans. Despite the end of the apartheid system 30 years ago, racism still exists in rural areas of the country.
The suspects were also charged with possession of unlicensed firearms and the attempted murder of Ndlovu's husband, Mabutho Ncube, at a court in Polokwane. Ncube also went to cut the farm with two women.
On the evening of August 17, Mabutho shot Ncube and survived. He crawled away and sought help from a doctor. He reported the incident to the police.
Mathol said that he was also at the spot along with the police officers. He saw a gruesome sight in the pigsty, the animals had eaten parts of his sister's body. Expired recently or will expire soon. The victims reportedly went to the farm in search of edible food from consignments of such products. These foods were sometimes left on the farm and fed to the pigs.
The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says the farm should be closed. The South African Human Rights Commission condemned the killing.
A farmer and his security guard were recently arrested for killing two people on a farm in the eastern province of Mpumalanga in August. The two men who killed and burned the bodies were charged with sheep theft.