South Africa: White Farmer Accused of Feeding Black Women’s Bodies to Pigs After Fatal Shooting

The accused

• Zachariah Johannes Olivier (60) – farm owner

• Adrian de Wet (20) – farm hand

• William Musoro (45) – Zimbabwean national, farm worker 

The trio face:

• 2 × murder

• 1 × attempted murder (a male companion who survived with gunshot wounds)

• 3 × defeating the ends of justice

• illegal-firearms and ammunition charges

• immigration violations (Musoro) 

They were not required to plead; the matter resumes Thursday for a formal bail argument. 

What happened

• 17 Aug 2024: Maria Makgato (45) and Lucia Ndlovu (35) allegedly entered Olivier’s Sebayeng pig farm to scavenge near-expired dairy products.

• They were shot at close range, prosecutors say, while Ndlovu’s husband was wounded but escaped.

• 20 Aug 2024: Police, acting on a tip-off, found the women’s decomposed bodies in the pig enclosure. 

Farm worker De Wet has now turned state witness, telling the court he was forced at gun-point to feed the corpses to the pigs in a bid to erase evidence. 

Public reaction & wider context

The killings—one of several recent “farm justice” cases—have drawn crowds and political observers to the courthouse. Advocacy groups demand swift convictions, arguing that rural murders too often collapse on appeal, as in the 2019 Coligny sunflower-theft case later overturned for lack of evidence. 

Police recorded nearly 20 000 murders nationwide in the first nine months of 2024; farm attacks account for a fraction but inflame racial tensions, with extremist voices painting them as proof of genocide or vigilante lawlessness, depending on perspective. 

What’s next

The state will call ballistic experts and forensic veterinarians to establish whether pig ingestion destroyed key evidence, while defence lawyers are expected to challenge the credibility of De Wet’s testimony in exchange for leniency. Courtroom security has been beefed up ahead of Thursday’s hearing as emotions run high. 

Cameroon Concord will keep readers updated as proceedings continue.