A disturbing account has emerged from a South African court, detailing how a farm worker was allegedly coerced by his employer into disposing of the bodies of two black women by feeding them to pigs. Adrian De Wet, 21, a farm supervisor, testified in the Polokwane High Court that farm owner Zachariah Johannes Olivier, 60, ordered him to throw the bodies into a pig enclosure, stating that "when pigs are hungry enough, they'll eat anything." This gruesome testimony is part of a murder trial against Mr. Olivier and another man, William Musora, 50, accused of killing Maria Makgato, 45, and Lucia Ndlovu, 34. The women were reportedly looking for food on a farm near Polokwane in South Africa's northern Limpopo province when they were killed.

Mr. De Wet, who was initially also accused of murder, had his charges dropped when he turned state witness, arguing he acted under duress. He recounted the events of August 17, 2024, when he and Mr. Olivier, armed with hunting rifles, waited for trespassers. After approximately 30 minutes, they heard voices approaching and opened fire, subsequently hearing a scream. Upon inspection, they found a person lying face down. They left the scene for the night and returned the next morning to discover it was the body of a woman. Mr. De Wet claimed Mr. Olivier then instructed him to help throw the body into an enclosure where eight to ten large adult pigs were kept. The following day, a second body was found about 25 meters from the first. Mr. Olivier, Mr. De Wet, and Mr. Musora allegedly then placed this second body inside the pigsty.

The court was presented with graphic evidence, as Mr. De Wet described their return to the pigsty the following Tuesday, where they found that the pigs had consumed large portions of the women's flesh. Pictures presented as exhibits reportedly showed missing buttocks, faces, thighs, and shoulders. State prosecutor Advocate George Sekhukhune questioned Mr. De Wet about the purpose of placing the bodies with the pigs, to which he explicitly stated, "We were disposing the evidence because when pigs are hungry enough, they'll eat anything." Further efforts to conceal the crime included Mr. Olivier allegedly chopping up the hunting rifles with an angle grinder and burning their wooden parts, before discarding the cut-up weapons and spent cartridges into a borehole.

The emotional toll of the trial was evident, with the son of victim Ms. Makgato crying repeatedly in court, and Mr. Olivier reportedly wiping away tears during Mr. De Wet's testimony. This harrowing case has ignited widespread outrage across South Africa, intensifying existing racial tensions between black and white communities, particularly in rural areas. Despite the end of apartheid three decades ago, most private farmland remains in the hands of the white minority, while the majority of farm workers are black and often poorly paid. This disparity continues to fuel resentment among the black population, even as some white farmers voice concerns over high crime rates. The cross-examination by defense lawyers for Mr. Olivier and Mr. Musora is set to continue next Wednesday.