The distraught families of the two women who were shot and fed to pigs at a farm in the shanty outskirts of Polokwane in Limpopo are struggling to bury their loved ones.
The deceased, Mariah Makgato, 47 and Lucia Ndlovhu, 34 were fatally shot and tossed into a pigsty at Onvervaght Farm near Sebayeng village.
After the gruesome killings that have sparked public outrage, the destitute families are now faced with a dilemma. They have no means of burying them this weekend.
Ndlovhu’s partner, Mabuto Ncube, luckily escaped from the wrath of the vicious farmers. He made his way to the nearby hospital, where he is receiving medical treatment.
No burial funds for both victims
Ncube is still nursing severe injuries allegedly inflicted by the farmers’ vicious dogs. He now faces the daunting task of transporting his partner’s remains to their native country Zimbabwe. This is where funeral arrangements are scheduled for this Sunday.
Mariah’s mother, Moyahabo Makgato, has been crying since her daughter’s passing. She is pondering how she is going to bury her.
Mariah, a divorced mother of four, was the primary caregiver of the family, which lives below the breadline.
She was killed when she went to the farm to harvest discarded expired dairy foodstuffs to provide for her family.
Moyahabo has been asking for good Samaritans to assist with funeral costs this week. she pleaded that her old age pension money was not enough to give her daughter a fitting send-off.
‘My daughter was killed like a dog’
Tears rolled down her face when she kept saying how her daughter was killed like a dog by heartless people.
“How come did these cruel people kill my daughter like an animal?” Moyahabo asked.
“I have never been so hurt in my life. The pain cuts deep, and I’m constantly reminded that Mariah left me with the burden of raising her children. She was a single mother and making ends meet was a daily struggle for the family.
“At the time of her death, I didn’t have money to travel from my home to come here at Mariah’s house. I am so broke I don’t know where to start with funeral arrangements. Even after her burial, the responsibility of raising my grandchildren will be a massive challenge for me.”
Victim was divorced mom of four and breadwinner
Moyahabo said the killers of her daughter have no idea of the pain they inflicted on her heart.
“My heart is bleeding and I just can’t stop crying. It’s so painful to lose a loved one like that. If those farmers felt that my daughter had intruded into their farm, they should have got her arrested. Instead of taking her life like that.
Even if they get lengthy jail sentences, my daughter will never be resurrected,” said a tearful Moyahabo.
Ncube, has his hands full trying to transport Lucia’s remains.
Like Mariah, Lucia leaves behind three young children who will be raised by impoverished relatives.
Suspects remanded in jail
Meanwhile, farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier, 60, Andrian Rudolph de Wet, 19, and William Musora, are in custody.
The trio is facing charges of murder and attempted murder. Also possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and defeating the ends of justice. Musora, a Zimbabwean national, is facing an additional charge of contravening the Immigration Act. This for being in the country illegally.
Musora, a Zimbabwean national, is facing an additional charge of contravening the Immigration Act. This because he is in the country illegally.
The three men appeared briefly in the Mankweng magistrate’s court on August 23. They were remanded in custody until August 30, for profiling.
