The High Court in Polokwane, Limpopo, is set to hear an appeal by the state on Thursday in the case of pig farmer Zacharia Olivier. The appeal follows a ruling by the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court in September, which granted Olivier’s defense lawyers access to written statements and a police docket.
Olivier’s defense team argued that their client, along with two co-accused, William Musora and Rudolf de Wet, signed the documents under duress after their arrest in August. The three men were arrested following the discovery of the remains of two women, Maria Makgato and Kudzai Ndlovu, in a pigsty on Olivier's farm in Onverwacht, near Polokwane.
While the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court allowed Olivier's legal team access to the documents, the same application by Musora and De Wet’s lawyers was denied. Their bail application is scheduled to be heard in November.
The case has drawn significant attention, and the High Court appeal is expected to address key issues surrounding the circumstances of the arrests and the validity of the statements made by the accused.