The High Court in Polokwane postponed the trial of three men to Thursday. The state accuses them of murdering two women and dumping their bodies in a pigsty on a Limpopo farm.
Limpopo pig farmer Zachariah Olivier, farm supervisor Rudolph de Wet, and Zimbabwean national William Musora face charges of murder, attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice, illegal possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Musora faces an additional charge under the Immigration Act.
Women allegedly shot and fed to pigs
The state alleges the men shot and killed Maria Makgato and Lucia Ndlovu in August last year at Onverwacht farm, outside Polokwane.
A third woman reportedly escaped. The victims had allegedly gone to the farm to collect expired food for the pigs.
According to the prosecution, the accused dumped the women’s bodies in a pigsty, where the pigs consumed them.
De Wet turns against co-accused
During brief court proceedings on Monday, 20-year-old De Wet, a supervisor on the farm, turned state witness under Section 204.
His lawyer, Muhammed Farouk Valjee, told the court that De Wet will testify that Olivier fatally shot the women and forced him, under duress, to dispose of their bodies.
The state is expected to withdraw charges against De Wet once he gives his testimony.
Olivier and Musora, aged 60 and 50 respectively, remain in custody and have yet to enter their pleas.
Do you believe the justice system treats the case fairly when it lets one accused avoid jail by testifying against the others?
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