A South African farmer and his employees face severe charges for allegedly murdering two Black women and feeding their bodies to his pigs in an attempt to destroy evidence.
Maria Makgatho and Locadia Ndlovu were reportedly shot to death in August after trespassing on a pig farm belonging to 60-year-old Zachariah Johannes Olivier in the northern province of Limpopo.
According to the BBC, a dairy company dumped some potentially expired goods on Olivier’s farm, so 45-year-old Makgatho and 34-year-old Ndlovu trespassed to try to scavenge for dairy products. They were shot after being found on the property and their bodies were fed to pigs.
Ndlovu’s husband accompanied both women to the farm and was also shot, but he was able to crawl away to escape the carnage to call for help. After he reported the incident to local police, authorities found the women’s bodies in a pigsty several days after they were killed.
Makgatho’s brother told BBC he was with the officers when the bodies were found and saw his sister’s body had been partly eaten.
Now Olivier, his farm supervisor Andrian Rudolph de Wet, and agricultural worker William Musora face two charges of premeditated murder, one of attempted murder and one of possession of an unlicensed firearm.
The murders have intensified racial tensions as many South Africans reckon with two other incidents that recently happened on farms. Another farmer and his assistant were arrested in August for allegedly murdering two men who they accused of stealing sheep. The victims’ bodies were burned beyond recognition in an attempted effort to hide evidence.
In another case, a 70-year-old farmer is accused of driving over a 6-year-old boy and breaking both his legs for stealing an orange.
Olivier, 19-year-old de Wet, and 20-year-old Musora have not yet entered a plea and their bail hearing was adjourned until November 6.
“My mum died a painful death, she was a loving mother who did everything for us. We lacked nothing because of her,” Makgato’s eldest son told the BBC. “I think I’ll sleep better at night if the alleged killers are denied bail.”
Some political parties have called for Olivier’s farm to be shut down or for the government to seize ownership of it. The South African Human Rights Commission has condemned the incident and called for impacted communities to hold anti-racism discussions as the case unfolds.
