Johannesburg, South Africa – South African authorities have issued a warning that Bongani Mthimkhulu, a suspect in the brutal murder of a female university student, may have fled to Zimbabwe. Mthimkhulu, hailing from Zola in Soweto, is the remaining suspect in a case that has shocked the nation.
His alleged accomplice, Philangenkosi Makhanya, was shot dead by police on 29 May after being cornered at a residential complex in Amanzimtoti, a coastal town south of Durban. Before his death, Makhanya confessed to the murder of Olorato Mongale, a student at Wits University.
According to KwaZulu Natal police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwananzi, a resident at the Amanzimtoti flats where Makhanya was hiding claimed that the deceased had told him one of the suspects was planning to flee to Zimbabwe. “This guy here tells us that when he interviewed the deceased, he told him that one of the suspects said he was going to Zimbabwe. We don’t know about that, we’re still trying to locate him,” Mkhwananzi stated.
It is believed that South African police have already requested assistance from their Zimbabwean counterparts to be on the lookout for Mthimkhulu. The two countries have an extradition agreement in place.
The tragic sequence of events began when Olorato Mongale told friends she was going on a date. Her lifeless body was later discovered, sparking a major police investigation.
Mathe stated that before Makhanya was killed in a shootout with police in Amanzimtoti, his mother had tipped him off that they were looking for him in Kwamashu township. “When he heard that the police were looking for him, he called his friend, who rents cars, to come and collect him. He told his friends everything regarding how he met Olorato in Bloemfontein two days before he killed her in Johannesburg last Sunday. Philangenkosi saw Olorato at one of the malls in Bloemfontein, and he followed her while she was shopping with her mother,” Mathe explained.
“This is where he exchanged contacts with Olorato, and they later met in Johannesburg. He fetched her from her residence, and she was later found dead in Lombardy West. Her lifeless body was ejected from the white VW Polo. Police later found the vehicle at the panel beater in Phoenix,” she added.
The white VW Polo, allegedly used in the kidnappings and robberies, has been impounded by police as evidence.
According to police, Makhanya and Mthimkhulu have been targeting women at various shopping centres across the country, using the white VW Polo to kidnap and rob them.
Meanwhile, Fezile Ngubane, a KwaZulu Natal man who was initially arrested in connection with Mongale’s murder, has maintained his innocence. Ngubane insists he has never laid a hand on a woman.
Ngubane was handed over to authorities by his father at the KwaMashu police station after learning that his son was wanted in connection with the murder. However, a multidisciplinary investigation team, headed by Major General Mbuso Khumalo, Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection in Gauteng, conducted thorough interviews and preliminary investigations that ultimately cleared Ngubane. He has been deemed a victim, having been unwittingly drawn into a sinister scheme, and has since been released from police custody.
Ngubane, who is a father to a teenage girl and earns a living by washing cars, was wrongly implicated after Makhanya allegedly used Ngubane’s identity to register multiple SIM cards. These SIM cards were then allegedly used to communicate with various women.
Speaking to journalists, Ngubane expressed his shock and disbelief. “I would like South Africans to know that I have never been involved in crime, I have never been a person who is a fan of crime, I do not entertain crime. It is just that the addiction, the life that I have put myself in, is the one that is really hurting me. For these three days, as I was in the holding cells, I was shaking for my life, I saw that maybe this is my last opportunity in life to turn back, to do good,” he said.
“Most of my life, I have hurt my parents and I have hurt myself. I would like to say to South Africans, anybody who thought I was involved in this should know that I have never done anything wrong, I have never left home, I have always been at home with my parents and I have never laid a hand on a woman. I have one child in my life. I am not a person.”
Ngubane added that his neighbours have been vouching for him since his arrest, as they know he is not a person.
The family of Olorato Mongale has pleaded with South Africans to show compassion towards Ngubane. They fear he may now face unfair stigma, despite being cleared by police. The family believes that Mongale would not have wanted Ngubane to pay for a crime he didn’t commit and that she would have wanted him to rebuild his life.
“The most incredible thing that happened with Olorato is that as she goes, as she bows out, she made sure that a co-victim is liberated because he was wrongfully accused,” said family spokesperson Chriselda Kananda. The family added that they were still searching for closure, with the second suspect still on the run.
Olorato’s mother, Basetsana Mongale, gave a haunting tribute at her daughter’s funeral service in Bloemfontein on 1 June. “Wherever I looked, I could feel Olorato’s spirit hovering around. Something already told me that Olorato’s no more,” she said.
Her mother recounted the moment she learned of her daughter’s disappearance. “When the first call came in, I was relaxed in the blankets on a Sunday. I last spoke to Olorato in the morning, and I was told Olorato is missing.”
Olorato went missing on Sunday, 25 May 2025. Police announced a major breakthrough in the case early on Thursday, 29 May, after her lifeless body had been dumped in Lombardy, north of Johannesburg. Police also confirmed that they were investigating a syndicate believed to be targeting women.
“I … prayed to God that he should save my child’s soul. Wherever I looked, I could feel her spirit hovering around,” she said. “As a mother, there are certain things you can feel; looking back, I realise that my daughter’s soul was already gone. While I was on the road, I was busy calling everyone and trying to arrange everything, but my heart just told me that my child is no more,” she told mourners.
Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo stated that it is believed that Olorato’s murder is linked to a dating scam where the perpetrators pretend to like or fall in love with young women. Once the young women agree to meet them in person, they kidnap and then rob them.
Olorato’s death is the latest femicide in a country where around 11 women are murdered every day.
At least 20 women have since come forward, identifying the same suspects in cases reported across the country — including in Potchefstroom, Midrand, Nelspruit, Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Boshielo says investigators have linked Makhanya and Mthimkhulu to twenty cases of an alleged syndicate targeting young women in malls. “Women from across the country have positively identified as the pair that kidnapped and robbed them. Some cases have been reported where we are today in Bloemfontein. In Bloemfontein, we have one case reported in Park Road and one in Kagisanong with the same modus operandi. They met these men at the waterfront mall and other malls in Bloemfontein, agreed to go out on a date with them and they were later robbed. Other cases have been reported in Nelspruit, Midrand, Pretoria, Potchefstroom, Lebowakgomo in Limpopo and Johannesburg.”
Olorato’s funeral service was held in the City Hall in Bloemfontein on Sunday, and she was buried at Bainsvlei cemetery. Her funeral came three days after her moving memorial service in Mahube Tumelo Hall in Bloemfontein on Thursday.

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