Main suspect killed, two on the run in Olorato Mongale's murder case

News24

2 days ago

Yet again, the KZN SAPS have made a breakthrough into a high-profile case.
Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi's team has clamped down on the three identified suspects in the murder case of Rhodes Journalism graduate and Wits student, Olorato Mongale, just under a week after her body was found dumped in Lombardy West.
While the country slept on Thursday, 29 June, to celebrate one of the suspects' parents being apprehended after the mother tipped her son off, they woke up to the news of the main suspect, Philangenkosi Sbongokuhle Makhanya, being fatally shot by the police in Durban.
Read more | Olorato Mongale's family struggles to come to terms with her tragic death - 'Our worst fears came true'
In the early hours of the morning, SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe announced a takedown operation.
Philangenkosi fled back to Durban, where he's from, and sought refuge at a residential complex in Amanzimtoti. This, while the other two suspects, Bongani Mthimkhulu and Fezile Ngubane, are still on the run.
At the flat, he was found with 20 cellphones and 28 ID cards.
Together with Bongani, Philangenkosi was out on bail granted in April in a case they were accused of armed robbery and kidnapping of a woman in Brakpan.
The three are believed to have premeditated and jointly executed the murder of Olorato under the pretense of a romantic pursuit.
The 30-year-old woman was lured to her death with a date she thought she was going to have with a man she had met at a mall, who picked her up from her residential complex in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Sunday, 25 June.
Upon investigations, the police found that she had been driven to Alexandra, then to Kew, and finally to Lombardy West, where her body was dumped on the road, alarming the neighbourhood.
Read more | Family of Mpumalanga woman axed by baby daddy over Sassa card speaks out
Investigations also revealed that the white VW Polo, which was used in the crime, was fitted with fake registration plates and that there is a bigger mall syndicate targeting women.
The vehicle was first traced down to a panelbeater shop in Phoenix, Durban which led them to the owner, Philangenkosi's father.
Meanwhile, the Mongale family is still reeling from their rainbow baby. Olorato was honoured at a memorial service in Bloemfontein on Thursday, where heartfelt tributes were paid in celebration of her life.
All these breakthroughs have been commended by the country at large.