A harrowing courtroom testimony has revealed the gruesome details of a South African farm worker’s forced involvement in disposing of two women’s bodies by feeding them to pigs. Adrian De Wet, 21, recounted to the Polokwane High Court how his boss, farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier, coerced him into throwing the bodies into a pig enclosure after they were shot. De Wet explained that Olivier believed the pigs would consume the evidence, stating, ‘When pigs are hungry enough, they’ll eat anything.’
De Wet admitted to firing shots alongside Olivier on the night of August 17, 2024, when they heard voices of trespassers on the farm. The victims, Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were allegedly searching for food on the property. The following morning, De Wet and Olivier discovered the bodies and disposed of them in the pigsty. A second body was found nearby and similarly discarded. Days later, they returned to find the pigs had devoured large portions of the women’s flesh, as evidenced by graphic photos presented in court.
De Wet, initially accused of murder, was granted immunity after agreeing to testify against Olivier and another suspect, William Musora. He claimed he acted under duress. Olivier and Musora face murder charges, with the case reigniting racial tensions in South Africa, where private farmland remains predominantly owned by the white minority, while black farm workers endure poor wages and living conditions.
The trial has sparked national outrage, highlighting the persistent racial divide in rural areas, decades after the end of apartheid. The defense’s cross-examination of Olivier and Musora is set to resume next Wednesday.