The formal bail application for a Limpopo farmer, Zachariah Olivier, 60, and his employees, Adriaan de Wet, 19, and William Musoro, 45, accused of killing two women and disposing of their bodies in a pigsty, was stalled in the Mankweng magistrate's court on Friday, August 30, 2024. The defence lawyers requested access to the police docket before proceeding.
Olivier, the owner of Onverwacht farm near Kotishing village in the Sebayeng policing area, along with De Wet and Musoro, were arrested after the decomposing bodies of Maria Makgato, 47, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were discovered in a pigsty with bullet wounds.
The accused face multiple charges, including two counts of premeditated murder, attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and obstructing the course of justice. Musoro also faces an additional charge of contravening the Immigration Act.
During the proceedings, Olivier's lawyer, Advocate Jakobus Johannes Venter, expressed concern that his client had made a formal statement while in prison without his constitutional rights being observed or his attorney present.
Venter argued that Olivier was not given the opportunity to contact his attorney and that he only became aware of the statement during a morning consultation before the court session. "We are not in a position to proceed today [Friday]. It is an opposed application, and I would like to be granted a proper opportunity," Venter told the court.
De Wet's lawyer, Jodi Meyer, also requested access to the docket before proceeding with the bail application. However, Prosecutor Advocate Joel Mamabolo argued that granting access to the docket could compromise the ongoing investigation, as police were still following up on allegations made in Olivier's statement.
Following a 30-minute adjournment, the court ordered the state to provide Olivier with access to the statement he made. Mamabolo indicated that the decision might be subject to appeal, stating, "We will request the reasons from the court for us to proceed with the appeal." De Wet was denied access to the docket, and the matter was remanded to September 10.
The killings caused outrage in South Africa, which suffers from a high crime rate with homicides among the highest in the world. Dozens protested outside the magistrate’s court at Mankweng, a town about 350 kilometers (217 miles) northeast of Johannesburg, to demand that the accused be refused bail.
The women’s wing of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party said it was “horrified and outraged” and called for “decisive action to curb the violence against women.” The main opposition uMkhonto weSizwe party condemned the murders, describing them as "atrocious" and attributing them to "racist white farmers."
Police figures released Friday showed that nearly 6,200 people were murdered in South Africa between April and June this year, a 0.5-percent decrease over the same period a year earlier.
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