The trial of the people accused of murdering two women who were scavenging for food on a Limpopo farm was halted to allow for an inspection to be made at the place where the killings happened.
This came after judge Jane Ngobeni ruled in favour of the defence on Tuesday in their application at the Polokwane high court for an inspection in loco.
WATCH | Adrian Rudolph de Wet shows court where the bodies of two women lay after he and Zacharia Olivier fired shots at a group of people who had gone to the Limpopo farm looking for expired food.
— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) November 5, 2025
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The defence had argued that the witness was not giving a true account of what transpired on the day of the shooting of the two women with regard to his positioning during the time of the shooting; hence, it was important that everyone go to the farm.
However, the state objected to the inspection in loco, claiming that the scene may no longer be in its original condition.
Ngobeni, however, said the inspection will go ahead, as the reason for going to the farm was not to gather evidence.
The group of people came from my left side, and we started seeing silhouettes when they had already passed the pole or gate,
— Adrian Rudolph
Among some of the things to determine at the farm was where the shooters stood as they fired shots at the women and the positioning of the bodies of the two women as well as the pigsty they were thrown into after being shot.
The court then proceeded to the Onverwacht farm, just outside Polokwane on the R81.
Maria Makgato and Lucadia Ndlovu were scavenging for expired dairy products meant for Zacharia Olivier’s pigs when they were shot dead, allegedly by Olivier and his worker Adrian Rudolph de Wet.
Both Olivier and de Wet, as well as Zimbabwean farmworker William Musora, were later arrested.
De Wet has since turned state witness.
Upon arrival at the farm on Tuesday, de Wet indicated that the caravan they had hidden by on the night they waited for the group of people who usually scavenge for expired food before shooting them had been moved a bit.
He also pointed out where the people had approached them.
“The group of people came from my left side, and we started seeing silhouettes when they had already passed the pole or gate,” said de Wet.
The court determined that the distance from where de Wet and Olivier stood to where they saw the group of people is 29.5m.
They also went to the pigsty in which the two bodies were thrown to inspect them.
The trial continues.
Sowetan
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