"South Africa: White Farmer on Trial for Allegedly Murdering Two Black Women and Feeding Their Bodies to Pigs, Fueling National Racial Tensions"

In a case that has reignited racial tensions in South Africa, a White farm owner and two of his employees are standing trial for the alleged murder of two Black women. Prosecutors claim the women were shot and killed for trespassing last August, and their bodies were then fed to pigs.

The accused are Zachariah Olivier, 60, the farm owner, along with his employees, Adrian De Wet, 19, and William Musoro, 45, who is a foreign national. The men appeared at the Limpopo Polokwane High Court on Monday in the northern Limpopo province. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa, the trio is facing "two counts of murder, attempted murder, three counts of defeating the ends of justice, and possession of firearms and ammunition."

Musoro, described by the police as an "illegal immigrant," faces an additional charge of "contravening sections of the illegal immigration act." The NPA spokesperson in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, stated that the men were not asked to enter a plea before the hearing was postponed until Thursday.

The investigation began after police were led to the discovery of the decomposed bodies of the women "in a pigsty on a farm in Sebayeng, outside Mankweng," on August 20, 2024. Police reports indicate the investigation was initiated after a 45-year-old South African woman went missing on August 17, accompanied by a 35-year-old foreign national woman. "Both women sustained gunshot wounds, and a 47-year-old foreign national man, who was with them, escaped but was also shot and hospitalized."

The survivor told reporters that one of the murdered women was his wife and the other was their neighbor. He explained that they had entered the farm to collect expired and abandoned dairy products. The killings have provoked widespread outrage among South Africans, who are demanding justice for the victims.

This incident is not an isolated one in South Africa. In the Mpumalanga province, four men, including a 24-year-old farm manager, are facing charges of murder and kidnapping for allegedly killing and burning the bodies of three people accused of stealing sheep last August.

A similar case in 2019 saw a South African High Court handing down lengthy prison sentences to two White farmers who threw a 16-year-old teenager out of a moving truck in Coligny, North West Province, for allegedly stealing sunflowers. However, two years later, a higher court overturned their sentencing and acquitted the men, citing a lack of evidence.