Farmer accused of killing women, throwing bodies into pigsty to apply for bail, co-accused no longer applying

Limpopo farmer Zachariah Olivier, 60, accused of killing two women and throwing their bodies into a pigsty, is expected to apply for bail in the Polokwane regional court on November 22. 

He appeared briefly in the Mankweng magistrate's court on Wednesday.

Limpopo National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said Olivier's co-accused, who are also his employees, Rudolph de Wet and William Musora, are not continuing their bail application. 

The main case has been  postponed to February 18 2025 for further investigations. 

The trio are charged with two counts of murder, attempted murder, defeating the ends of justice and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. Musora also faces a charge of contravention of the Immigration Act.

They were arrested after the decomposing bodies of Maria Makgato, 47, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were found in a pigsty at a farm in Sebayeng outside Mankweng.

The bodies were found with bullet wounds.

TimesLIVE previously reported Ndlovu’s partner Mabuto Ncube, who was with the women when they went to the farm to collect expired yoghurt, survived the ordeal. He was shot once but managed to flee from the farm to the R81 outside Polokwane where he sought help.

Olivier's bail application was previously delayed as his lawyer asked the court to grant them a statement he made to police while in custody.

TimesLIVE