Pig farmer denied access to statement in murder case
This decision comes despite a prior ruling by the Mankweng Magistrate Court granting Zachariah Olivier (60) access for his bail application.
POLOKWANE – Zachariah Olivier (60), the owner of a pig farm, will not receive the contents of his police statement related to the deaths of two women in August.
This decision comes despite a prior ruling by the Mankweng Magistrate Court granting him access for his bail application.
The state’s appeal to the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane led Judge President Moletjie Phatudi to initially rule that the appeal was not argued under the correct criminal clauses of the Criminal Procedure Act.
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Phatudi, however, later struck the matter off the roll, allowing the prosecution another opportunity to appeal.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Adv Lethabo Mashiane, promptly reapplied for the appeal.
On Monday, Phatudi issued an order rescinding the earlier decision that granted Olivier access to the statement.
Olivier’s defence counsel Adv Jakobus Venter, argued that his client was under duress when the statement was taken and could not recall its contents.
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The case resumed at the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for the bail application of Olivier’s alleged accomplices: Rudolph de Wet, a farm supervisor, and William Musora, a Zimbabwean national.
Musora, initially represented by a private lawyer, was later taken on pro bono by Olivier’s legal team after being dropped for non-payment.
The trio stands accused of murdering Lucodia Ndlovu and Mariah Makgato, who were reportedly searching for discarded food on Olivier’s property. The incident allegedly involved a shootout between Olivier, De Wet, and the two women.
