Justice Advocate Assists Families of 2 Slain Limpopo Women: “The World Has More Light Than Darkness”
- The heinous murders of two women at a Limpopo pig farm have sparked public outrage and an outpouring of support
- Maria Makgato and Lucia Ndlovu were shot and killed while reportedly looking for food near the Onverwacht farm
- Three men arrested in connection with the murders appeared for a second time in the Mankweng Magistrate's Court
- A social justice advocate spoke exclusively to Briefly News about the efforts to assist the families of Makgato and Ndlovu
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JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is pulling together for the two women brutally murdered at an Onverwacht farm in the Thabazimbi Local Municipality in Limpopo on 17 August.
Maria Makgato, a mother of four, and Zimbabwean national Lucia Ndlovu were shot and killed after reportedly trespassing at the pig farm.
Limpopo women's families receive support
Makgato, 47, and Ndlovu, 34, accompanied by Ndlovu's husband, had gone to collect allegedly dumped expired or near-expired goods left by a truck goods.
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Police, who found the remains of the women in a pigpen on Tuesday, 20 August, arrested the farm owner, Zachariah Olivier, 60, and his two employees, Adriaan de Wet, 19, and William Musoro, 45, the following day.
The trio appeared for a second time in the Mankweng Magistrate's Court on Friday, 30 August, for a formal bail application.
They face two murder and one attempted murder charges, in addition to possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, defeating the ends of justice and, in the case of Musoro, contravening the immigration act.
The matter was again postponed so the state could consider the bail application.
After the incident, a BackaBuddy campaign was launched to assist the victims' families. A social justice advocate, Bianca van Wyk, spoke exclusively to Briefly News about the efforts to assist Makgato's family while handling that of Ndlovu, a Zimbabwean national, separately.
Van Wyk said she was spurred to assist after contacting Makgato's eldest son, Ranti, 22, after reading about the story in a Netwerk24 article.
"Maria was a single mother of four children, aged five, 12, 16 and 22, who was looking for food near the dumped expired dairy products. It struck me how, besides dealing with the traumatic loss of their mother, her sons may not have access to food and other basics because of abject poverty. Maria will be buried this weekend [and] I also read that the other victim’s family will take her remains back to Zimbabwe to be buried," said van Wyk.
Van Wyk felt compelled to do something after the weight of the horrors of how the women were killed weighed on her heavily, she told Briefly News.
She said her fundraising initiative had received an overwhelming response and was continuing, surpassing the initial threshold of R50,000.
"When I read the story and the follow-up stories, I needed a way of getting out of what felt like a dark pit. I also know this event had the same impact on others.
"Being able to do something practical in times like this doesn’t only give a little comfort to the families of victims, but also provides us with a little hope.
"The response to the call for support reminds us that there is more light in this world than darkness."
When asked how she would want the criminal justice system to handle the case, she said she hoped for justice to be served quickly.
"I think the law [should] take its course and the punishment must fit the crime. Besides the punishment of the crime, I think there should be some form of compensation to [the] victims' families. There are four boys, three of which are minors, who have not only lost their mother but also the only breadwinner in their family."
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Source: Briefly News
