South African police have murdered the culprit in a recent murder of a college student who says they have broken down a gang targeting shopping center women.
Olorato Mongale's body was reportedly found in Lombardy, north of Johannesburg, where she was reportedly missing and dated.
Later Wednesday, they named three suspects who they believed might have been involved in her death.
“We broke the back of a group that is a shopping mall targeting women, especially young women…kidnapping and robbery,” police spokesman Brig Athlenda Mathe said.
Police also said they had caught the car, a Volkswagen polo, allegedly used to murder a 30-year-old student.
“The car was found in a panel assault workshop in Phoenix, Durban,” Brig Mathe said.
A man who police officers believe is the owner of the vehicle has been arrested.
Photos of the other three suspects – Fezile Ngubane, Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makhanya and Bongani Mthimkhulu – are said to be running away and have been released by police.
Police said last month, two suspects, Mr. Makhanya and Mr. Mthimkhulu, were arrested for kidnapping and robbing a woman in KwaZulu-Natal and using the same vehicle.
According to Brig Mathe, both are currently on bail.
The three suspects were “dangerous” and warned the public not to approach them.
“These suspects have been warned to hand over themselves to the nearest police station.”
Police catch a mass ball believed to have been used for murder [South Africa police / X]
Ms. Mongale last showed up in the company of a man she met in a shopping mall a few days ago.
CCTV footage showed her leaving a position in Kew, Johannesburg, and heading towards the white Volkswagen ball with a fake license plate.
Her friends said she was invited to date by a man who only John, who met her in Johannesburg, where she studied her graduate bachelor’s degree at Witwatersrand University.
Before leaving the house, she quickly texted one of her friends saying she was excited and preparing for the date.
But police later found her body in an empty place, sparking public anger and calling for justice.
Family spokesman Criselda Kananda said Ms. Mongale's body was “brutally assaulted”.
A candlelight vigil was held in Lombardy West on Wednesday night at the site where her body was found.
According to local media reports, family and friends described her as an outspoken, bubble-like woman who “has purpose and love.”
Ms. Mongale is a journalism graduate from Rhodes University and has been a brief multimedia journalist on the Times News website.
While working as a journalist, she reported on the murder of Karabo Mokoena, a young woman who was murdered by her boyfriend in 2017.
Ms. Mongale’s killings sparked a heated debate on the extent of violence faced by South African women.
According to the latest crime statistics, between January and March this year, 137 women were murdered and more than 1,000 women were raped in South Africa.
According to a study by the University of Free State, a woman died from an intimate partner every eight hours in 2020.
South Africa ranked the highest among the five countries with the highest murder rates for women in 2019, according to the United Nations.
The country is also one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world, and rape is the most crimes against children.
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