Rudolph de Wet and other witnesses will return to the Polokwane High Court from January 26 to 29 to continue their testimonies after the double murder farm trial was postponed by Judge Jane Ngobeni on Wednesday.
De Wet, a suspect-turned-state witness, is testifying against his former employer, Zachariah Olivier, who is accused of double murder and attempted murder following the gruesome killings that occurred on August 17, 2024.
The victims, Maria Makgatho (45) and Lucia Ndlovu (35) — a Zimbabwean national — were shot dead. Their bodies were thrown into a pigsty afterwards. Lucia’s husband, Mabutho Ncube, sustained gunshot wounds but managed to escape.
Lied under oath
During cross-examination, Olivier’s legal representative, Advocate Jacobus Venter, pressed De Wet to admit that he lied under oath when applying to become a state witness under Section 204.
“You lied under oath when you told this court that you were not the only one who shot at those people. And [you] then decided to throw Mr Olivier under the bus by not honouring the agreement to take the fall,” said Venter.
He further suggested that De Wet fabricated parts of his story out of fear.
Venter’s questioning stemmed from De Wet’s earlier claims of torture. He alleged that he was assaulted and suffocated with a plastic bag by police officers during interrogation. And the assault left him on the brink of losing consciousness. De Wet had also testified that Olivier handed him a .303 rifle and instructed him to “aim at trespassers”. He understood the trespassers to mean the victims.
Wednesday’s testimony followed a site inspection at Onverwaght Farm in Sebayeng, outside Polokwane. It was attended by the judge, court officials, and both legal teams.
Visit to crime scene
During the visit, De Wet re-enacted the shooting, indicating where he allegedly fired his .303 rifle. And also where each of the victims’ bodies was found. He also pointed out the direction where Olivier allegedly fired his .22 rifle.
Following the inspection, Judge Ngobeni noted discrepancies between Olivier’s earlier testimony and the physical layout of the scene.
Olivier and his co-accused, William Musora, remain in custody pending the resumption of the trial.
