Farmers Johannes Olivier, Rudolf De Wet and William Musora during their court appearance.
farm owner and pig farmer Zachariah Johannes Olivier (60).
Members of the ANC Women’s League protesting outside court.
The bereaved families of the two women who were brutally murdered at a pig farm in Limpopo had to face a daunting task raising funds for the burials.
The deceased, Mariah Makgato, 47 and her Zimbabwean neighbour, Lacodia Ndlovhu, 34 were fatally shot and fed to pigs at Onvervaght farm near Sebayeng village in the outskirts of Polokwane.
Ndlovu’ husband, Bruce Ncube, who was shot during the encounter with the farmers, managed to flee and made his way to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
Makgato and Ndlovu, who for many years lived in abject poverty, were regular scavengers of discarded food at this farm until they were murdered there.
On this fateful day, they were accosted by the farmers who ended their lives while they were trying to harvest the expired dairy foodstuffs for their destitute families.
Their deaths have received widespread condemnation from civil society, human rights advocacy groups, politicians and the religious sector.
But despite public sympathy, the families were unable to make ends meet ahead of the burial services.
On the even Mariah’s burial, the Makgato family had not bought the coffin ahead of her burial at Kotishing informal settlement.
When they arrived at the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court where they came face-to-face with the men who allegedly murdered their loved one, their facial expressions confirmed hard-nosed anger and resentment.
Mariah’s brother, Walter Mathole said the death has devastated the family in many ways.
Speaking to Mopani Times during court adjournment, Mathole said things were falling apart for the indigent family.
“The costs implicated in the burial are just too heavy for us to carry out. We are unable to make ends meet at the moment while we are waiting for good Samaritans to assist us in anyway whatsoever. As you know, it is expensive to bury a black person because many sympathisers will have to come and pay their last respect. The whole week we have being trying to figure out how the sendoff will be. “It doesn’t end there because my sister leaves behind young children who are going to need a mother who will take care of them” said Mathole.
Ncube said, who has been released from hospital, said the pain inflicted by the piecing bullet cannot be compared with the heartache he feels after losing his wife.
“I had to postpone the burial because there are still no funds to repatriate the body to Bulawayo. I don’t know where to start because life in a foreign country has always been a struggle” he said.
Advocate Kgaudi Morota, the chief executive officer of Black Forum South Africa, said he has no doubt that the killings of the two women were racially-motivated.
“We are going to be here all the way to assist these families to ensure that justice prevails throughout the trial. We are aggrieved by the impunity which these farmers behave. These farm killings are all over the country and stringent measures need to be placed to curb immedietely” said Morota.
Meanwhile, the lawyers representing the accused have requested postponement for bail application, saying they were not ready as they were not furnished with sufficient details regarding the cases.
The trio is facing charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition, defeating the ends of justice.
Musora, who is a Zimbabwean national, is facing an additional charge of contravening the Immigration Act by being in the country illegally.
A large police contingent had to contain a large crowd comprising members of civil society, politicians, government officials and members of the ANC, EFF and Umkonto we Sizwe Party who packed the court gallery to the rafters.
When the accused’s families made their way into the courtroom, members of the MKP were not thrilled by their presence.
Outside the court precinct, political parties were united in their condemnation for the brutal killings which they insisted were racially-motivated.
Magistrate Arshard Chaya granted the defense their application for a postponement and the bail hearing will be heard on September 10.