Farmer, two workers in court after two decomposed bodies found in a pigsty

A Limpopo farmer and two of his employees who are accused of killing two women and throwing their bodies into a pigsty made a brief appearance in court on Friday on charges of murder. 

Zachariah Olivier, 60, and his two employees, Adriaan de Wet, 19, and William Musoro, 45, appeared in the Mankweng magistrate’s court, facing two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition and defeating the ends of justice. 

Musoro is also facing a charge of contravention of the Immigration Act for being in the country illegally.

Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said the matter was postponed to August 30 for a formal bail application.

The suspects were arrested after the discovery of decomposed bodies of two women in a pigsty on a farm in Sebayeng outside Mankweng on Tuesday.

The arrest followed a thorough investigation by the provincial tracking team and murder and robbery unit. The investigation began when Maria Makgato, 45, a South African woman, went missing after visiting the farm last Saturday, accompanied by a 35-year-old foreign national. “Both women sustained gunshot wounds and a 47-year-old foreign national man, who was with them, was also shot and hospitalised. Police investigations are ongoing,” said Mashaba. 

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