A Limpopo farmer and his two co-accused will remain behind bars pending their next court date, this after the Mankweng Magistrate's Court postponed their bail application this week. The postponement is to allow for the men's legal team to consult further.
Farm owner and pig farmer Zachariah Johannes Olivier (60), farm supervisor Andrian Rudolph De Wet (19), and employee William Musora (45), a Zimbabwean national, appeared in the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court face two counts of premeditated murder, attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition after they allegedly killed two women and dumped their bodies in a pigsty.
Musoro faces a further charge of contravening the Immigration Act.
During the bail application hearing, Olivier's legal team requested access to his warning statement, while De Wet sought access to the contents of the case docket.
"The state opposed these applications, asserting that the accused were not entitled to the information for bail purposes. Consequently, the state noted an appeal against the ruling made by Magistrate Arshad Chaya regarding Olivier's application for access, explained National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi Dzhangi.
It is alleged that the men killed 47-year-old Mariah Makgato and 34-year-old Lucia Ndlovu and wounded Ndlovu's husband who entered the Onvervaght farm to collect goods that had been dumped by a truck.
In a brutal act, the accused allegedly fired several shots at the victims, resulting in the deaths of the two women and injuries to a surviving male individual.
He managed to crawl to the main road where he received assistance and was transported to the hospital.
The incident was reported and police discovered the women's bodies in a pigsty.
The matter has been postponed to September 10.
IOL News