South African Correspondent
A Limpopo farmer and his two co-accused will remain in custody until their next court appearance on September 10, after the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court postponed their bail application.
Zachariah Johannes Olivier, 60, Andrian Rudolph De Wet, 19, and William Musora, 45, are accused of killing two women, Mariah Makgato, 47, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, and dumping their bodies in a pigsty on Olivier’s farm.
The men face charges of premeditated murder, attempted murder, and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Musora, a Zimbabwean national, also faces a charge of contravening the Immigration Act.
During the bail application hearing, the state opposed requests by Olivier and De Wet for access to their warning statements and the case docket, respectively.
“The state opposed these applications, asserting that the accused were not entitled to the information for bail purposes,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi Dzhangi.
The postponement allows the men’s legal team to consult further on the matter.
The incident allegedly occurred when the victims entered the farm to collect goods dumped by a truck, and the accused fired several shots at them, resulting in the deaths of the two women and injuries to a surviving male individual.
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