The trial at the Polokwane High Court for the double murder at the Onverwacht pig farm was postponed on Wednesday until November 3, when Rudolph de Wet, the state witness and former accused, is anticipated to continue testifying.
On his second day on the witness stand, De Wet described to the court how three police officers allegedly assaulted him, covering his head with a plastic bag and demanding that he disclose the location of the rifles used in the savage murders of Lucia Ndlovu (35) and Maria Makgatho (45).
The two women were shot and killed on August 17, 2024, while foraging for food on the farm in Sebayeng outside of Polokwane.
Ndlovu’s husband, Mabutho Ncube, survived the incident despite suffering gunshot wounds.
De Wet’s testimony on Wednesday came after he made a statement last week in which he claimed that Zachariah Olivier, the farm owner and the first accused, gave him a rifle and told him to “aim at trespassers”, which he meant to mean the victims.
De Wet claims that he fired three shots at the women before Olivier likewise fired his gun. The decaying remains of Makgatho and Ndlovu were found in a farm pigsty four days later.
Suffocated with plastic bag
Three weeks ago, Olivier entered a guilty plea to the charge of illegal firearm possession.
A week ago, Makgatho’s son, one of 22 witnesses, also testified about his futile wait for his mother.
He claimed that when his mother didn’t show up at their regular meeting place, he started to worry. She was supposed to come back after gathering food scraps from the farm.
Under cross-examination by advocate Jacobus Venter, representing Olivier, De Wet said he feared for his life during police interrogation, claiming he nearly lost consciousness several times while officers suffocated him with a plastic bag.
Judge Jane Ngobeni postponed the case to November 3.
Olivier and his co-accused, William Musora, who is also facing charges of being in the country illegally, will remain in custody until proceedings resume.
