A South African farmer and his workers face grave charges after allegedly killing two Black women and feeding their bodies to his pigs in an effort to destroy evidence.
Maria Makgatho and Locadia Ndlovu were reportedly shot to death in August after trespassing on a pig farm owned by 60-year-old Zachariah Johannes Olivier in the northern province of Limpopo.
According to the BBC, a dairy company dumped some potentially expired goods on Olivier’s farm, prompting 45-year-old Makgatho and 34-year-old Ndlovu to trespass in search of dairy products. They were shot after being found on the property, and their bodies were fed to pigs.
Ndlovu’s husband accompanied both women to the farm and was also shot, but he managed to crawl away to seek help. After he reported the incident to local police, authorities later located the women’s bodies in a pigsty several days after they were killed.
Makgatho’s brother told BBC he was with the officers when the bodies were found and saw his sister’s body had been partly eaten.
Now Olivier, along with farm supervisor Andrian Rudolph de Wet, and agricultural worker William Musora, face two counts of premeditated murder, one count of attempted murder and one charge of possessing an unlicensed firearm.
Rudolph de Wet cried during a September court hearing, drawing additional outrage from the public.
“I’m sure he didn’t look remorseful when he did it. They’re a danger to society .. How many other people have they done it to and may have gotten away with it? They must stay in jail!” one woman wrote. “He can cry a river for all we care, he is a heartless monster, he is still going to face worse things in prison where he belongs, he must suck it up,” another person wrote.
The murders have intensified racial tensions as many South Africans reckon with two other incidents that recently happened on farms. Another farmer and his assistant were arrested in August for allegedly murdering two men who they accused of stealing sheep. The victims’ bodies were burned beyond recognition in an attempted effort to hide evidence.
In another case, a 70-year-old farmer is accused of driving over a 6-year-old boy and breaking both his legs for stealing an orange.
Olivier, 19-year-old de Wet, and 20-year-old Musora have not yet entered a plea, and their bail hearing was adjourned until Nov. 6.
“My mum died a painful death, she was a loving mother who did everything for us. We lacked nothing because of her,” Makgato’s eldest son told the BBC. “I think I’ll sleep better at night if the alleged killers are denied bail.”
Some political parties have called for Olivier’s farm to be shut down or for the government to seize ownership of it. The South African Human Rights Commission has condemned the incident and called for impacted communities to hold anti-racism discussions as the case unfolds.
