Family and friends of murdered master’s student Olorato Mongale tell of their immeasurable pain

Police claim progress is being made in the investigation into the death of Olorato Mongale, a 30-year-old master’s student at the University of the Witwatersrand, whose life was brutally cut short just two hours after she was reported missing on Sunday, 25 May.

Her body was discovered in Lombardy, north of Johannesburg. She was last seen in the company of a man she had met a few days earlier at the Free State Mall.

“He reached out to her, saying he was in Joburg and asked that they meet for lunch,” said family spokesperson Criselda Kananda.

CCTV images show the last glimpses of Olorato walking towards the Polo driven by her presumed murderer. (Photo: Mpiloh Zuma / Facebook)

Mongale’s death is the latest femicide in a country where around 11 women are murdered every day, which equates to one woman murdered almost every two hours.

Mongale was studying for a master’s degree in ICT Policy and Regulation. She had completed her honours degree in Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University and worked briefly as a multimedia journalist at TimesLIVE before continuing her academic journey.

“For her it was like, ‘No I don’t want to live a life where I would keep chasing horrible stories’, she wanted to influence the reporting of the horrible stories, and help shape the policies behind the headlines, and we were robbed of that,” said Kananda.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said dedicated teams and resources had been deployed to locate a suspect who goes by the alias “John”. Investigators have uncovered that his vehicle had counterfeit number plates.

“We are picking up similar cases in the area of Sandton,” Mathe told the SABC. “On the 8th of May, we picked up a lifeless body of a female in Sandton, which was dumped just like Olorato was dumped, in Katherine Street in Sandown. We had a similar case as well in Sandton, I think it was in April, where a lifeless body of a female was also dumped.”

Kananda said the family’s pain was immeasurable.

“We cannot find the right words to describe the pain we are going through, because every day has its own challenges,” said Kananda.

Olorato Mongale. (Photo: Thoko Nogabe / Facebook)

Inseparable bond

Olorato was an only child and shared a deep and inseparable bond with her mother, Basetsana Mongale.

“They were best friends, experienced life together, travelled the world together; they shared everything, including relationship challenges,” said Kananda.

“I don’t know what life becomes for [Basetsana] after her child’s tragic passing because all her life she lived for Olorato,” said Kananda.

Kananda said Mongale was more than just a family member, she was a true friend, and recalled how respectful, kind, open and joyful she was.

“Although she was younger, she became our friend. We spoke about everything. We always played around the phrase ‘uMjola uzoku hurder [relationships will hurt you]’.”

(Image: Candi Smith / Facebook)

During her tenure as a journalist, one of the stories Mongale covered was that of Karabo Mokoena — the young woman from Soweto who was murdered by her boyfriend, Sandile Mantsoe. Mokoena’s charred remains were found in Lyndhurst, Johannesburg.

Mongale’s body was later found in Lombardy, just a few kilometres from where Mokoena’s body was discovered.

A former colleague, Naledi Mailula, said she was stunned after learning of Mongale’s murder.

Reflecting on covering the Mantsoe court case with Mongale, Mailula said: “We approached that story with as much compassion and empathy as we could, knowing we were giving voice to the pain of a grieving family. That’s what we do as journalists: we sit in courtrooms for hours, talk to families, and try to make sense of the senseless. But never in a million years do we imagine that one of our own could become the subject of such a devastating headline.”

Confidence

Mailula described Mongale as outspoken and incredibly self-assured.

“When we first met, I believe she was fresh out of school. This was around 2017/2018, but there wasn’t a hint of timidity. She carried herself with confidence and spoke her mind.”

Kananda said they wanted to honour Mongale’s legacy not as another statistic, but as a woman who lived with purpose and love.

Olorato Mongale. (Photo: Elna Mkhize / X)

“We don’t want her to be remembered as a statistic, as a child who was dumped in the street. She worked too hard for her country, for herself, for womanhood,” said Kananda.

“We cannot accept this as a norm or a reality,” she said.

While Mongale did everything by the book, reported her whereabouts and ensured her location services were on, she was still murdered. Kananda and Mailula hoped justice would prevail.

“Here was a young woman who had done everything right, chasing her career, finding her voice, maybe even hoping for love and companionship — only to be betrayed and taken advantage of in the most horrific way. And just like Karabo, she died in the most horrific way, her body tossed out as though it did not matter. But if anything, I hope that while we watched justice unfold for Karabo, the same will be done for Olorato,” said Mailula.

Olorato Mongale with family friend Criselda Kananda. (Photo: Pearl Wu / Facebook)

The family is hopeful that justice will be served.

“There is a detective, I am yet to experience, that is as passionate, very articulate, constantly informing the family, guiding us [on] what to disclose, what not to disclose. We were assured that all hands are on deck. We are confident this thing — it is very hard to call him a man — will get he deserves.” DM