POLOKWANE – The lawyer representing a Zimbabwean national arrested as an accomplice in the Onverwacht pig farm double murder case has argued that state witness Rudolph de Wet (21) is deliberately avoiding key details to absolve himself of implication.

The trial resumed for the first time this year on Monday in the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Polokwane, with cross-examination of De Wet led by Adv Desmond Nonyane, representing the third accused, William Musora.

Musora faces charges related to the murders of Maria Makgato and Lucodia Ndlovu in August 2024, after their remains were found in a pigsty a day after they were shot and killed, allegedly by farm owner Zachariah Olivier and De Wet.

The victims had reportedly trespassed onto the farm to collect expired dairy products used to feed pigs.

According to evidence, several people were present on the farm, including Ndlovu’s husband, who, a witness previously testified, was shot in the stomach, resulting in an additional attempted murder charge against Olivier and De Wet.

De Wet, who confirmed he was the farm manager at the time, was provisionally absolved of all charges after agreeing to testify against Olivier, who turns 62 this year.

During cross-examination, Nonyane questioned De Wet on whether Musora was present at the time of the shooting and whether Musora, as an undocumented foreign national, would have faced consequences had he refused instructions to help carry the bodies to the pigsty. De Wet answered in the affirmative.

De Wet further conceded that both he and Olivier pretended to be surprised in Musora’s presence upon discovering the bodies and merely asked him to assist in disposing of them. He testified that Musora, now 42, was the one who discovered the second body after arriving on the farm and reported it to his seniors shortly before the bodies were concealed.

De Wet, however, denied that Musora was coerced into helping conceal evidence or that Musora acted without full knowledge of the circumstances. He claimed he could not recall finer details surrounding the incident.

“I put it to you that you are avoiding to remember because you were instrumental in coercing him to carry the bodies into the pigsty,” Nonyane responded.

The matter, heard before judge Jane Ngobeni, continued on Tuesday before being postponed the next day.

Musora and Olivier remain behind bars.