Olorato Mongale murder: Suspects previously arrested in Brakpan

Two men arrested in Brakpan last month are now wanted by police in connection with the murder of 30-year-old Olorato Mongale.

In a horrific act that has deeply shocked and angered the nation, the 30-year-old postgraduate Wits University student was murdered after going on a date with her alleged killer on May 25.

According to SAPS, the man picked her up from her residential complex driving a white VW Polo. They drove in Alexandra, proceeded to Kew and between Alexandra and Lombardy West in Johannesburg, the man allegedly murdered Olorato and dumped her body.

During investigations, it emerged that the VW Polo was fitted with fake registration number plates.

Police have launched a manhunt for three suspects, identified as Fezile Ngubane, Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makhanya and Bongani Mthimkhulu.

Makhanya and Mthimkhulu are also suspects in a local case, where a woman was robbed at knifepoint after being lured with a fake romantic proposal. The victim in this case, however, was rescued by Brakpan police.

As previously reported by the Brakpan Herald, crime prevention officers were conducting patrols in Dalpark Ext 6 on April 20 when they spotted a grey VW Polo Vivo parked far into the veld just off Heidelberg Road.

They approached the vehicle and found two men and a woman. When asked what they were doing parked there, the woman allegedly begged the officers not to leave her with the two men.

The officers interviewed the woman alone, and she explained that she is an employee at a shop at Mall@Carnival and one of the men proposed love to her and she became interested.

“The man then suggested that the woman accompany him and his friend during her lunch break,” Brakpan SAPS Sector 1 manager and communications officer Constable Audrey Buthelezi told the Herald at the time.

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“They then drove with her to the open veld. The man who was sitting with her at the back of the vehicle pointed an okapi knife at her, instructed her to take out her cellphone and transact a cash send using her bank app.

“During that time, the man also ordered her to empty her handbag, and they took R500 in cash.”

The officers arrested the two on charges of kidnapping, armed robbery, possession of suspected stolen goods and fraud.

The Vivo in which they were travelling was found to have false number plates and it was also confiscated, along with the knife.

iPhone devices found in the suspects’ possession, which they could not open even though they claimed ownership, were also seized.

Meanwhile, police have reported a breakthrough in the murder case with the SAPS National Crime Intelligence Unit finding and seizing the wanted VW Polo that was allegedly used in the murder of Olorato. A multi-disciplinary team led by the SAPS anti-kidnapping task team seized the vehicle at a panel beater workshop in Phoenix, Durban.

The investigation first led the team to a lodge in Kew, Johannesburg where two suspects had booked a room. Further intelligence led them to KwaMashu in Durban to the home of one of the suspects.

The vehicle was later found at the panel beater workshop. Upon inspection by SAPS forensic experts, traces of blood were found inside the vehicle.

An elderly man believed to be the owner of the vehicle has been arrested. Investigations are continuing with police stating the search for all suspects has reached a critical and sensitive stage.

The prior arrest of Makhanya and Mthimkhulu has, however, raised serious questions about the justice system’s ability to ensure public safety and the effectiveness of bail conditions.