One of the three suspects in Olorato Mongale case cleared, while police hunt for remaining suspect

More details have emerged from police accounts of the early morning shootout in a residential complex in Amanzimtoti  in which the main suspect in the murder of Olorato Mongale, who police identified as Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makhanya, was  shot and killed by police.

The shootout happened just hours after police launched a manhunt and named three dangerous suspects in the case of the 30-year-old Master’s student from the University of Witwatersrand, who went missing on Sunday, 25 May 2025. Her lifeless body was later found dumped in Lombardy, north of Johannesburg.

Police on Thursday morning identified  two suspects in Mongale's murder as Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makhanya and Fezile Ngubane.

On Saturday 31 May, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement that  Fezile Ngubane who was initially identified as a suspect in a syndicate targetting young women has been cleared.

Police said Ngubane’s father handed him in at the KwaMashu police station on Friday when he learnt that his son was sought by police in the Olorato murder case.

A multidisciplinary team led by the Deputy Provincial Commissioner for Crime Detection in Gauteng Major General Mbuso Khumalo, the SAPS National Anti-kidnapping task team, KZN and Gauteng Provincial Investigating Unit (PIU) have now cleared Ngubane following a thorough interview and preliminary investigation.

Ngubane washes cars for a living and stays in the same neighbourhood as deceased Philangenkosi Makhanya.

Makhanya allegedly identified Ngubane as a soft target and took his ID smart card and used it to Rica SIM cards that Makhanya would use to commit his long list of kidnapping and robbery crimes targeted at young women. It is alleged that he would use Ngubane’s bank card to buy at various clothing stores.

Ngubane’s ID was found as part of the 27 ID smart cards found in possession of the deceased.

The SAPS has also released the parents of one of the two suspects in the case after their statements were taken down.

The statement said that police are sitting with at least 20 cases where women have come forward identifying the suspects as those who kidnapped and robbed them. Some of these cases were reported in Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein, Midrand, Ogies and Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, Pretoria and Johannesburg.

The search for Bongani Mthimkhulu continues and police once again call on Mthimkhulu to hand himself over at his nearest police station.

Wanted Sibongokuhle Makhanya in the murder of 30-year- old Olorato Mongale. (Photo: Supplied)

 

Wanted Bongani Mthimkhulu in the murder of 30 year old Olorato Mongale. (Photo: Supplied)

Speaking to journalists on Friday morning, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi confirmed that police had received over 90 calls from women across the country, all claiming to be victims of the three suspects in Mongale's murder.

Although police believe this was part of a larger syndicate, only two official cases have so far been reported and brought before the court — one in Brakpan and another in KwaMashu.

“We know he has a kidnapping case here in KwaMashu, where he was scheduled to appear in court, and another case in Brakpan where he was due to appear in court on Monday,” Mkhwanazi said.

Makhanya was reported walking and driving around  with a safe containing “no fewer than 28 ID cards and more than 20 cellphones in his possession. He’s also been moving around with a safe, though we don’t yet know what it was being used for,” said Mkhwanazi.

Speaking about how Makhanya was intercepted, Mkhwanazi said police worked through day and night and ultimately found him hiding in the apartment in Amanzimtoti.

It has since emerged that the person who accommodated him was a “Gospel coordinator” who rented out cars for hire for a living.

Makhanya sought to rent a car on his arrival at the apartment, but the man who has since given police a statement said he did not give him a car, instead he counselled, prayed and begged him to hand himself over to the police.

“The guy said upon seeing his photo in the media, he then decided that he's not going to give him a vehicle. But he stayed with him the whole day, trying to convince him to hand himself over.

“According to the witness, the owner of the place,  said he (Makhanya) confessed to him on what he did in Joburg and he wanted to commit suicide.”

About Makhanya’s accomplices, Mkhwanazi said the gospel coordinator told the police that  Makhanya said one  of the suspects had fled to Zimbabwe.

When police arrived at the  flat Makhanya  took out a gun which the gospel coordinator was not aware of as he did not search him and a shootout ensued.

Police have since arrested two other accomplices - who drove Makhanya around for his errands including taking him to a shopping centre where he went to withdraw cash and subsequently dropping him off at the Amanzimtoti apartment.

Makhanya's parents who were initially held by police have since been released. Mkhwanazi said police could not charge the mother yet as they still needed to obtain a section 205.

Makhanya was located by police at the apartment in Amanzimtoti, in Durban in the early hours of Friday morning.

National police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe said: “When police announced their arrival, he shot at police, police returned fire and he was fatally wounded." 

The shooting came  hours after the police arrested Makhanya's mother and father. The mother is said to have helped him evade arrest.  

 Mkhwanazi said Makhanya's mother alerted her son over the phone  while officers were at the KwaMashu house questioning the father.

"What is disturbing more than anything is that the mother tipped off the son while the police were in the house. The mother called the son telling him to get away while he was in hiding, that’s why she might have to face the music” he told SABC News . 

Read more:  Family and friends of murdered Master's student Olorato Mongale tell of their immeasurable pain 

Mthimkhulu and Makhanya were arrested on similar charges in Brakpan on 20 April this year and were later granted bail.  

Mathe confirmed that the suspects had been linked to other cases, as several women have come forward with information about them.

Speaking to journalists outside the Protea Magistrate's Court yesterday, where a 59-year-old police officer appeared on charges of raping a police trainer, Mathe said: “We do officially confirm that we are investigating a syndicate. We do believe that we have broken the back of a syndicate that is targeting women, especially young women where they utilise the same modus operandi where they propose these young women in malls, request to take them on dates when they agree that is when they plan to rob them.”  

Mongale met one of the suspects at a mall in Bloemfontein a few days earlier and exchanged contact details.  

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

The investigation initially led officers to a lodge in Kew, Johannesburg, where two suspects had booked a room but never actually stayed the night.

Pursuing that lead, investigators later tracked down the vehicle used to pick up Olorato. It was discovered at a panel beater’s workshop in Phoenix, Durban, bearing cloned number plates. Upon inspection by SAPS forensic experts, blood traces were found inside the vehicle.

This  is a developing story, which has been updated to include more details about the dead suspect shared by the SAPS and the police removal of Fezile Ngubane as a suspect- DM