The farm owner where two women scavenging for expired food were killed and thrown into a pigsty had planned to take the blame for their murders so his two workers could walk free.
However, he changed his mind after the three of them were arrested, resulting in one of his employees panicking and deciding to become a state witness, spilling the beans about the events of August 2024, when Maria Makgato and Lucadia Ndlovu were shot dead.
This is according to 21-year-old Adrian Rudolph de Wet, who was employed at Zacharia Olivier’s farm.
De Wet, who only has a grade 10 education, had been working at the farm for six months when he and Olivier shot Makgato and Ndlovu. De Wet, Olivier and Zimbabwean national William Musora were then arrested and charged with the women’s murders.
Testifying at the Polokwane high court yesterday, De Wet said they had planned to make a false statement to the police after they shot the women and threw their bodies into a pigsty.
However, he said they were arrested, and Olivier told them he‘d take the blame for the murders so De Wet and Musora would not be implicated.
While in custody, Olivier made his statement to the investigating officer. De Wet said he started fearing for his life when Olivier returned from making his statement.
He also said Olivier had changed and was no longer willing to take the fall for them. “That is why I turned state witness. I felt it was time for me to tell the whole truth,” he said.
That is why I turned state witness. I felt it was time for me to tell the whole truth
— De Wet
De Wet did not elaborate on why he feared for his life. When the defence asked him whether he had seen Olivier’s statement to come to the conclusion that he had changed his mind about taking the fall, he said he hadn’t.
A photo of a woman lying down with a gunshot wound in her neck was also shown to the court.
A post-mortem stated that the bullet that caused the wound was from a 303 rifle.
In his previous testimony, De Wet admitted to having used a 303 rifle when he and Olivier shot at a group of people who had gone to the farm to look for expired food meant for the pigs.
The court had to be adjourned to next year after one of the staff members complained about being unable to continue with the work of the day due to the unbearable smell coming from the toilets that did not have running water.
“My lady, we have a problem in the building because there is no water. On the floor where I’m located, the smell is unbearable, and I’m feeling sickly. I am unable to relieve myself, and I tried going to the nearest shopping complex and found out that there is no water,” she said.
The Polokwane municipality had earlier in the week released a statement saying there was a major water supply disruption currently affecting several areas within the city.
“This shortage arises from an unplanned interruption experienced by Lepelle Northern Water at the Olifantspoort Plant since yesterday, as officially communicated,” it said.
The matter was postponed to January 27.
Sowetan
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