They were looking for food Farmer allegedly killed women and fed them to pigs
Two women are looking for food - a short time later they are dead. A farmer and his employees shoot the two suspected thieves and throw their bodies into the pigsty.
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- Two women were shot dead while stealing expired food and feeding it to pigs.
- The trial of the farmer and his employees is causing protests and political reactions in South Africa.
- A 20-year-old co-defendant has testified that he acted under duress.
Two women were brutally killed on a farm near the town of Polokwane because they apparently wanted to steal expired dairy products. According to the police, the bodies of the victims, Maria Makgato (47) and Lucia Ndlovu (34), were later found in a pigsty - with gunshot wounds, some of which had already been eaten by animals.
The incident took place on August 17, 2024 in the village of Sebayeng. As the news agency APTN reports, Maria and Lucia had observed a truck unloading expired goods on the grounds of a small farm. They are said to have gained access to the site in the hope of being able to provide for their families.
While trying to escape, the 60-year-old farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier, a 50-year-old supervisor and a 20-year-old employee shot at the two women. Lucia's husband, who was accompanying her, was also shot - but was able to escape and call the police.
Confession at the trial
The trial against the three men began in South Africa on Monday. An explosive confession was revealed on the very first day of the trial: 20-year-old Andrian Rudolph de Wet testified, according to the public prosecutor, that he had acted on the instructions of his boss. Olivier had shot the women, he himself had helped to throw the bodies into the pigsty under pressure. If the court accepts this statement, the charges against de Wet could be dropped, reports the BBC.
The victims leave behind children, Maria was the mother of four sons aged between 5 and 22. "My mom died an agonizing death. She did everything for us," her eldest son Ranti Makgato told the BBC. Friends and acquaintances are now collecting donations for the family.
The case is also making waves politically. Sindisiwe Chikunga, Minister of Women and Youth Affairs, called for harsh punishments and emphasized to Jacaranda FM: "Remember that the victims were killed while they were looking for food."
The authorities' decision to initially release the alleged perpetrators on bail led to protests across the country. The South African Human Rights Commission called for calm - and warned against acts of revenge.
Racial tensions reignited
Walter Mathole, brother of one of the victims, told the BBC that the act had once again exacerbated the already tense racial tensions in the country. Although the end of the apartheid regime was more than 30 years ago, cases like this shed a harsh light on deep-rooted inequalities and violence on South African farms.
The trial against the three men will continue in mid-August.
