Police launch an investigation into the ‘premeditated’ murder of Olorato Mongale
Police National Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said SAPS had launched a manhunt for a man alleged to have murdered Mongale on May 25, thereafter dumping her body in Lombardy West about two hours later.
National Police Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said they have launched an investigation into the murder of 30-year-old Olorato Mongale, who was allegedly killed by a man she went on a date with on May 25.
Her body was later dumped in Lombardy West.
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In a video shared by the SABC, Mathe stated that police acted swiftly, launching the investigation on Sunday. “We have mobilised maximum resources, as with any GBVF [Gender-Based Violence and Femicide] case we investigate. We have roped in our FCS Unit [Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigation Unit], along with crime intelligence officers and our cybercrime unit,” Mathe noted, adding that they were also collaborating with private security companies to track the suspect’s vehicle movements.
After early investigations, Mathe said they discovered that the licence plate on the suspect’s white Polo Vivo belonged to another vehicle, leading them to believe the murder was premeditated.
According to Mathe, Mongale had gone on a date with a man calling himself John, who picked her up from her residential complex. “They proceeded to Alexandra, then to Kew in Johannesburg. About an hour and 45 minutes later, at around 16:50 [May 25], her lifeless body was dumped in Lombardy West, and that is where police collected her body.”
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Mathe said it seemed as though the suspect and the victim had met before. “They were chatting, and that is when she agreed to go out on a date with this particular perpetrator…. When she left her residential complex, she informed her friend that she was going out on a date. This was corroborated by the Mongale family spokesperson Dr Criselda Kananda.”
Kananda said Mongale and her friends had an agreement that when one of them went out on a date, the person on the date should send their location update every 30 minutes. “There was a time when it took two hours before they [victim’s friends] got the next update. After those two hours, they activated Find My Phone. Then they got the location of her phone. They found her purse outside a house in Bramley, and nothing had been stolen,” she noted, adding that her friends went to open a missing person’s case at the Bramley Police Station before her body was found in Lombardy West.
Mathe urged women to remain extra vigilant of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity. She also appealed to the public, asking anyone with information about the suspect to come forward.
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