‘Satanic slayings’: calls for closure of Limpopo farm on which two women’s bodies were found in pigsty

The EFF in Limpopo wants a farm where two women, Maria Makgato and Lucia Ndlovu, were allegedly brutally killed closed. Their bodies were found in a pigsty on the property in Sebayeng, outside Mankweng.

The remains were discovered during a thorough investigation launched after the two women went missing after visiting the farm two weeks ago.

Speaking about the case, EFF Limpopo provincial chair Lawrence Mapoulo condemned the killings.

“This horrific act is satanic, and racism of the highest order. Unfortunately, these incidents continue to happen because perpetrators are not given harsher punishments that deter them from behaving in a manner that is worse than animals. White racists continue to believe in their small minds that black lives do not matter.

“We cannot have a situation where certain sections of society think they are superior to others, and that they have more of a right to life than others,” Mapoulo said.

He also called for the farm to be immediately closed so that a proper investigation could take place. Mapoulo further proposed that the farm be expropriated without compensation, and said the proceeds should go directly to the families of the deceased.

“The families of the women should be the direct beneficiaries of any production that happens on the farm,” he said.

Farmer Zachariah Olivier, 60, and his two employees — Adriaan de Wet, 19, and William Musoro, 45 — appeared in the Mankweng magistrate’s court last week.

The matter was postponed to Friday August 30 for a formal bail application.

The EFF has vowed to support the families of the deceased in court.

“Our branches will picket on the farm for the entire week to ensure that no work is done. The SPCA must put down all the pigs, as they were exposed to human flesh. Furthermore, the SPCA must charge the farm owners with animal abuse.”

The three men are facing two counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and defeating the ends of justice after the decomposed bodies of the two women were found.

Rise Mzansi spokesperson Gugu Ndima also called for justice.

“This case is an explicit illustration of how the poor majority continue to be exploited, have their rights violated, and endure gruesome abuse.

“We urge the wheels of justice to turn swiftly. Moreover, we call upon the department of employment & labour and the department of agriculture to investigate the treatment of farmworkers on the farm in question, as well as on surrounding farms,” Ndima said.

One of the family members of the deceased, Walter Mathole, has also come out to demand justice for the alleged murder of his late sister, Maria Makgato.

“We want to sue the farmer to look after my sister’s children. He [allegedly] killed her, and she was a single mother with four children. I am the last-born at home and a breadwinner looking after our mother, but now I have to look after my sister’s children as well,” he said.

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