A farmer and his security guard have been arrested for allegedly killing two men at a farm in Laersdrift, Mpumalanga. (Alfonso Nqunjana/News24)
- A farmer and his security guard have been arrested for allegedly killing two men.
- The victims had allegedly stolen the farmer’s sheep.
- It is alleged that the victims were severely assaulted, leading to their deaths.
A farmer and his security guard have been arrested for the
alleged murder of two men at a farm in Laersdrift, outside Middelburg in
Mpumalanga.
Police spokesperson Donald Mdluli said on Thursday that the
farmer accused the two victims of stealing his sheep.
It is further alleged that the two men were severely
assaulted by the farmer and the security guard, leading to their deaths on 22
August.
“The matter is still under investigation because the
remains of the two victims have not yet been found. It is alleged that the
bodies were burnt beyond recognition,” Mdluli said.
He said a police forensic team would go to the farm to
collect evidence on 29 August.
Mdluli said:
The ashes will be collected as evidence, which will undergo forensic tests. Meanwhile, the two suspects are currently in police custody.
Pig farm murder
In an unrelated incident on Friday, 23 August, News24
reported that a Limpopo farmer and his two employees had appeared in court
after the decomposing bodies of two women were found in a pigsty on the
farmer’s property.
Zachariah Olivier, 60, and his two employees – Adriaan De
Wet, 19, and William Musoro, 45 – appeared in the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court
on 23 August.
READ | ‘Pigs were feeding on her arm’: Son speaks of horror as he finds mum dead in a pigsty in Limpopo
They face charges including murder, attempted murder and
defeating the ends of justice. They were arrested after the discovery of two
bodies on Olivier’s farm in Sebayeng, outside Mankweng.
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said:
The investigation began when a 45-year-old South African woman went missing after visiting the farm on Saturday, 17 August.
She had been accompanied by a 35-year-old woman and a
47-year-old man.Both women sustained fatal gunshot wounds, and the man was hospitalised for a
gunshot injury, said Ledwaba.The matter was postponed to 30 August for a formal bail application.
Investigations are ongoing.