A chilling tale of violence and cruelty has unfolded in Limpopo, South Africa, leaving a community reeling in shock and grief.
Zachariah Johannes Olivier, a 60-year-old pig farmer, along with his 19-year-old farm supervisor Andrian Rudolph De Wet, and an illegal migrant 40-year-old Zimbabwean farm employee, William Musora, have been arrested and charged with the murders of two women.
The victims, Mariah Makgato, a mother of four, and Lucia Ndlovu, a 34-year-old Zimbabwean national, were shot and killed on August 17th, 2024, after they went to the Onvervaght farm to collect expired dairy products that had been dumped by a truck.
They were accompanied by Ndlovu's husband, who miraculously survived the attack after being shot but managed to flee.
According to Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, spokesperson for the Limpopo National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the three accused men have been charged with two counts of premeditated murder, one count of attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and defeating the ends of justice.
Musora faces an additional charge of being in South Africa illegally. The NPA alleges that Olivier and De Wet had a pre-meditated plan to shoot any community members who trespassed onto their farm.
The two men allegedly fired multiple shots at the victims, killing Makgato and Ndlovu instantly, while Ndlovu's husband managed to escape with serious injuries.
The brutality of the crime did not end there. After shooting the women, Olivier and De Wet allegedly tossed their bodies into a pigsty, where the animals began to devour them.
"It is alleged that accused one (Olivier) cut the firearm used in the murder and disposed of it along the R80 road," said Malabi-Dzhangi.
The following day, Musora, who was working on the farm illegally as he is an undocumented migrant, discovered the bodies and reported his findings to Olivier and De Wet. The three men then allegedly moved the bodies to the pig stalls, where the pigs began to consume them.
The incident unfolded after a Clover truck had dumped expired or soon-to-expire dairy products on the farm. Makgato, Ndlovu, and her husband went to the farm to collect these discarded goods, a practice that is not uncommon in the area, as many people rely on these discarded products for their livelihoods.
"It is alleged that on August 17, 2024, at a farm Onvervaght under Sebayeng policing area, after a Clover truck had dumped alleged expired or soon to expired goods, the two deceased and a surviving victim trespassed into the farm to collect the above goods," said Malabi-Dzhangi.
Walter Mathole, Makgato's brother, described the horrific ordeal, saying that he went to the farm after his sister (pictured below) failed to return home, but was met with indifference from the farm workers.
"I went to the farm asking if they had seen my sister but they did not provide me with any helpful information. I also asked workers at the farm but they said they were not at work when the incident happened," Mathole told the SABC.
Mathole said a neighbour of the farm informed him that he had heard gunshots.
"We have lost so much. My sister’s children are now orphans and it will now be my duty to take care of them. I need help and I want the accused people to be denied bail," he said.
The incident has sparked outrage and calls for justice. The community is demanding that the perpetrators be brought to justice and that the families of the victims receive the necessary support.
"This is a horrific crime that has shaken our community. We are demanding justice for these women and their families," said a resident of the area, who wished to remain anonymous.
The three accused men appeared in court on Friday, August 23rd, 2024, where their case was postponed to August 30th for profiling. They remain in custody.
The police were alerted to the incident after Makgato and Ndlovu's families could not locate them. The police discovered the bodies of the women in an advanced state of decomposition.
Malabi-Dzhangi said that they received a report that Olivier had crushed the firearm used in the murder and disposed of it along the R80 road.
