Overview

• Zachariah Olivier and employee William Musora pleaded not guilty in the Polokwane High Court to murder, attempted murder, immigration and firearms charges.
• Olivier’s affidavit says he placed the two women’s bodies in an empty pigsty, cut up two rifles he says were used for warning shots, and contacted police the following day.
• Prosecutors told the court the killings were planned and carried out in common purpose, which the judge said could mandate life sentences if the pair are convicted.
• The victims, Maria Makgato and Kudzai Ndlovu, were shot at a farm dumping site where they were scavenging for food, and a third person survived with injuries.
• Charges against farmworker Adrian (Rudolf) de Wet were withdrawn after he became a state witness, a move that angered Makgato’s family.