Overview
- Rudolph de Wet told the Polokwane High Court that police placed a plastic bag over his head after his arrest and that he feared for his life.
- Under cross-examination, de Wet said officers questioned him about disposing of weapons and whether he and others committed the shootings.
- De Wet, who received Section 204 immunity, testified that he fired a .303 rifle toward silhouetted figures after being told to aim at trespassers, adding that the group came to steal pigs and dairy products.
- Farm owner Zachariah Olivier and employee William Musora are on trial over the August 17, 2024 killings of Maria Makgatho and Lucia Ndlovu and the wounding of Mabutho Ncube.
- Proceedings follow a postponement granted for the state to study a 13-page defence ballistic report; Olivier has pleaded guilty to possessing an unlicensed firearm and Musora also faces immigration and defeating-the-ends-of-justice charges.