“I KIl!LLED THEM AND F3D THEM TO PIGS” – FARMER’S CONFESSION TO POLICE STANDS
Farmer’s gruesome confessin to be used as evidence
Polokwane pig farmer Zachariah Olivier initially admitted to killing two women and feeding to his pigs but made an dramatic u-turn this week saying he was coerced by police to admitting to the crime.
However, the Polokwane High Court in South Africa has ruled that the confession of Olivier is admissible as evidence in the double murder trial involving him and his two co-accused.
The court delivered judgment today (Thursday) in the trial-within-a-trial concerning Olivier, who is accused alongside Rudolf de Wet and his Zimbabwean worker William Musora of the murders of a South African Maria Makgato and Zimbabwean Lucia Ndlovu in 2024.
The women were caught trespassing into Olivier’s farm to scavenger for expired dairy products for the pigs. The woman were killed and fed to the pigs. Their remains were found in the pig sty.
The court found that the statement made by Olivier was given freely and voluntarily, without any undue influence or coercion.
Consequently, the statement was ruled admissible as evidence.
Following the ruling, the matter was postponed to October 23 for further proceedings, during which the contents of the statement will be read into the court record.
The three men face charges of double murder after the two women were allegedly killed and their bodies thrown into a pigsty at the Onverwaght farm outside Polokwane in 2024.
The State is represented by Advocate George Sekhukhune and Advocate Matibidi Malatji. The accused remain in custody.