Polokwane, South Africa – A murder trial in South Africa has intensified racial tensions after a white farm worker claimed he was forced to dispose of the bodies of two black women by feeding them to pigs.
The two women, Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34, were allegedly searching for food on a farm near Polokwane in Limpopo province last year when they were killed. The bodies were then reportedly fed to pigs in an attempt to hide the evidence.
Adrian de Wet, 20, a supervisor at the farm, is one of three men charged with the murders. As the trial began on Monday, he turned state witness and testified that farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier, 60, shot the women. According to his lawyer and the prosecution, de Wet claims he was under duress when he was forced to throw the bodies into the pig enclosure. If the court accepts his testimony, all charges against him will be dropped.
The third accused, William Musora, 50, a Zimbabwean national, faces charges of murder, attempted murder for allegedly shooting at one of the women’s husbands, and possession of an unlicensed firearm. Musora also faces an additional charge for his immigration status. Both he and Mr. Olivier have yet to enter a plea and remain in custody.
The case has provoked outrage across South Africa, bringing to the forefront the deep-seated racial divisions that persist in the country more than three decades after the end of apartheid. Tensions are particularly high in rural areas, where the majority of private farmland is still owned by the white minority, while most farm workers are black and often poorly paid.
The Limpopo High Court was filled with relatives of the victims and members of the opposition party, Economic Freedom Fighters. The trial has been postponed until next week.
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