A 60-year-old White South African farmer identified as Zachariah Johannes Olivier, and his two workers, Adrian de Wet, 19, and William Musora, 50, have been accused of killing two Black women, Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, and feeding their bodies to pigs.
The alleged murder of the two Black women has sparked outrage in South Africa.
The women were reportedly searching for food on a farm near Polokwane in Limpopo province when they were allegedly shot dead on August 17 by the farmer and his employees, BBC reports.
It was claimed that their bodies were then fed to pigs in an attempt to destroy evidence.
A court will soon determine whether Olivier, and his employees can be granted bail ahead of their murder trial.
Meanwhile, the suspects have not yet entered a plea, as this will occur when the trial starts later.
It was gathered that protests demanding that bail be denied to the suspects have taken place outside the court.
Walter Mathole, Ms. Makgato’s brother, told the BBC that the incident has intensified racial tensions in South Africa, particularly in rural areas, despite the end of apartheid 30 years ago.
The suspects also face charges of attempted murder for shooting at Ms. Ndlovu’s husband, who was present with the women, as well as for possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Mabutho Ncube, Ms. Ndlovu’s husband, survived the attack as he managed to escape and seek medical help.
He reported the incident to the police, who later discovered the women’s decomposing bodies in a pigsty.
Mathole described a horrific scene when he accompanied officers to the site, where he saw his sister’s body partially consumed by the animals.
It was reported that the victims had gone to the farm in search of discarded food, including expired produce that was often left to feed the pigs.
Makgato’s family is devastated, particularly her four sons, aged 5 to 22.
“My mum died a painful death; she was a loving mother who did everything for us,” her eldest son, Ranti, told the BBC.
Ranti added, “I think I’ll sleep better if the alleged killers are denied bail.”
Reacting to the incident, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), an opposition party in the country, called for the farm’s closure, stating that its products pose a danger to consumers.
In a related development, a 70-year-old farmer Christoffel Stoman was recently accused of running over six-year-old black child Khwezi Jantjies in Lutzville, South Africa.
Khwezi’s mother, Magdalena Jantjies, expressed her relief that her son survived but highlighted Stoman’s indifference and lack of support following the incident.
The attack occurred after Stoman accused Khwezi of stealing an orange from his farm, leaving the boy with broken legs.
Magdalena in a video interview with eNCA recounted the terrifying moment, saying the farmer said he would kill her son.
She said: “He came from around the corner and he was driving at a speed. He shouted ‘stand there, stand there.’ I thought he was going to stop. He aimed directly at us in a corner, and I screamed, Help! Help!
“He said, ‘I’m going to kill you by driving into you.’”
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