A Limpopo pig farmer accused of murdering two women has told the High Court in Polokwane that he deliberately lied in a statement made after his arrest in an attempt to protect his co-accused.
Zacharia Olivier, the first accused in the double murder trial, testified that the statement he gave to investigators was not truthful because he wanted accused number two, Rudolph de Wet, and accused number three, William Musora, to be released.
De Wet has since turned State witness in the case.
Olivier told the court he also hoped that his cooperation and advanced age would result in a more lenient sentence.
"It was a lie on my behalf because I wanted to protect what we had agreed upon in that this man should be set free," Olivier testified.
Olivier and Musora are standing trial for the murders of Maria Makgato and Kudzai Ndlovu, whose bodies were discovered in a pigsty on Olivier's farm outside Polokwane in August 2024.
The trial is continuing in the High Court, where the court is hearing evidence relating to the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two women and the roles allegedly played by the accused.