The owner of a Limpopo farm where the bodies of two women were found in a pigsty claims a police officer once told him to “shoot these people who come steal at your farm” when he reported stock theft.
This is what Jacobus Venter, the lawyer of pig farmer Zachariaha Olivier, put to W/O Alina Marotola at Polokwane high court.
ALSO READ | Three men killed during the shooting at Gordon’s Bay Mall
Marotola, who works at the Sebayeng police station, was testifying in court about how she went to the farm to look for Maria Makgatho, whose son had reported her missing, when she saw the mutilated bodies of two women in a pigsty.
The other body belonged to Lucadia Ndlovu.
She said when she later spoke to Olivier about the bodies, he claimed he did not know how they ended up there.
“One of the police officers told my client that ‘its been long that these people have been stealing from you, shoot those people’” — Farmer Zacharia Olivier
During cross-examination, Venter told Marotola that a stock theft unit of the SAPS had once gone to his client’s farm to check the situation after Olivier complained about ongoing theft.
“It is my client’s version that Sebayeng police came to the farm and even took blood samples of the pigs that were cut at the farm.”
“One of the police officers told my client that ‘its been long that these people have been stealing from you, shoot those people’,” said Venter.
He said Olivier had been reporting cases of stock theft and dairy products stolen from the farm for four years but his complaint has never been investigated.
Venter asked Maratola if she had any knowledge of the complaints or cases opened by Olivier.
Marotola said she had been working at Sebayeng police station since September 2023 and had never received any docket opened by Zachariah Olivier.
“I have never seen or received any case opened by Mr Olivier, but it is possible he might have made a complaint or opened a case with the Sebayeng police station before I arrived.
“I arrived at the Sebayeng police station in 2023 and can confirm that from then to date all the case dockets opened at the station pass through me. I know about all of them,” said Marotola.
On the evening of August 17 2024, Makgatho, 45, and Ndlovu, 34, were among a group of people who had gone to the farm to get the expired food usually meant for pigs when Adrian Rudolph de Wet and Olivier allegedly shot them.
De Wet is the farm’s supervisor.
The others fled, but Makgato and Ndlovu were killed, and their bodies thrown into a pigsty.
De Wet, who has turned state witness, said they put the bodies into a pigsty with another worker, William Musora, to dispose of them and conceal evidence.
The matter was supposed to continue with the evidence of ballistics expert Nosisa Fortunate Mahlalela but was postponed.
That was because Venter told the court Olivier had developed an infection on his leg and was in pain.
ALSO READ | Obakeng Minyuku shot and killed by neighbour
In previous court appearances, Olivier was seen to be limping. Venter applied for a postponement, which was granted, to allow Olivier to see a doctor.
The matter is expected back in court on February 25.
