Olorato Mogale’s mother brings mourners to tears at emotional funeral service

Mourners at the funeral of Olorato Mongale. (Image: Sourced / x / @FSLegislature)

1 Jun 2025

Family and friends at the Bloemfontein funeral on Sunday of murdered journalist and Wits University Master’s student Olorato Mongale, were left in tears by her mother Basetsana Mongale’s haunting tribute.

“Wherever I looked, I could feel Olorato’s spirit hovering around. Something already told me that Olorato’s no more,” her mother, Basetsana Mongale, said at her funeral service in Bloemfontein on Sunday, 1 June.

Her mother, a nurse, said, “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.

Olorato Mongale (30) was found murdered in Lombardy West after going missing on Sunday, 25 May 2025. (Photo: Mpiloh Zuma / Facebook)

Olorato's mother said that when she heard that her daughter had gone missing, she had jumped into the shower, got dressed and got on the road.

“I … prayed to God that he should save my child’s soul. Wherever I looked, I could feel her spirit hovering around.

“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.

According to Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo, 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.

An angel and visionary

Messages of support streamed in as Olorato was laid to rest. Some called for the fight against gender-based violence to be strengthened.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile said in a statement read to mourners: “Olorato’s senseless and brutal murder is not only a devastating blow to her loved ones, but a painful reminder of the ongoing crisis of gender-based violence (GBV) that continues to haunt our nation.

“There is no place in our society for those who prey on daughters, sisters and mothers; we must name this evil for what it is and we must root it out together as a nation.”

funeral mongale Mourners at the funeral of Olorato Mongale. (Image: Sourced / x / @FSLegislature)

Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, said gender-based violence was a national crisis and that too many women continued to suffer in silence, adding that “the responsibility to end GBV lies with all of us”.

More than four years ago, in June 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared gender-based violence a national crisis, saying it should be considered as South Africa’s second pandemic.

Boshielo said the murder showed “how vulnerable and scary it is for us women.”

Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae emphasised the need to remember all victims of gender-based violence who had already been buried, claiming their voices had been silenced by the hand of a man.

“Indeed, our country is bleeding from the deep wounds inflicted on our women and girl children.

“They must be afraid when criminals have become so involved that they can casually kill women and dispose of their bodies, like animals. The soil is soaked in the blood of the women in South Africa,” she said.

Background

Olorato’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.

On Thursday morning, police identified three suspects in Mongale’s murder – Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makhanya, Bongani Mthimkhulu and Fezile Ngubane.

Makhanya was shot dead by police in Durban in the early hours of Friday, 30 May. On Saturday, 31 May, police issued a statement confirming that Ngubane, who was initially identified as a suspect, has since been cleared.The search for Makhanya's alleged accomplice Bongani Mthimkhulu continues and police once again call on Mthimkhulu to hand himself over at his nearest police station.

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.

Olorato was ‘part of Wits family’

Jerome September, Dean of Student Affairs at the University of the Witswatersrand, said Olorato had been snatched away too soon – something that had left the community of Wits broken, angry and searching for answers.

He said, “She had everything that we believe a Witsie is.

“She had it all – excellence, determination, the grit and the guts to make a difference.” According to September, she was more than a student number or a name on a class list, she was part of the Wits family – a Witsie.

“A young woman deserved safety, dignity and the freedom to pursue her education without fear. She was a young woman of intellect, determination and immense promise. Her life was filled with ambition, purpose and excellence. This excellence is evident in her membership at Rhodes University of the Golden Key International Honour Society. It … operates in around 180 countries … and acknowledges the excellence academically of the top 15% of performers. She was … recognised globally for that, she was working on building a bright future and powerful declaration of hope and belief in a better tomorrow,” he said.

Olorato joined the university in February 2025 to pursue a Master of Arts in ICT Policy and Regulation, with a focus on ICT sustainability, digital access and economic growth.

She had already shown leadership, forming a WhatsApp group for class coordination and resolving technical issues during lectures.

Don’t shield children who commit crime, parents warned

Boshielo said that when the case was reported on Sunday, 22 May, police immediately brought in the SAPS National Anti-Kidnapping Task Team and the Gauteng Provincial Investigating Unit to support the Sandringham police station’s investigating officer in tracking down the suspect, then only known as “John”.

The task team soon followed the trail of a VW Polo and the alleged perpetrators, leading them to a lodge in Kew, Johannesburg, where the suspects had booked a room. From there, the team proceeded to KZN, where they located the VW Polo at a panelbeater’s workshop in Phoenix.

“This vehicle was found with traces of blood. Our forensic experts are still analysing this blood sample. We thereafter proceeded to the house of Philangenkosi Makhanya, where we found his parents. We interviewed them, and the father led us to the house of Philangenkosi, but when we got there, he had unfortunately already left,” Boshielo said.

On Friday morning, police located Makhanya at a block of apartments in Amanzimtoti. When police announced their arrival, he opened fire. Officers returned fire, resulting in his death at the scene, according to the GCIS.

“We appeal to parents – if somebody has done something wrong, please, please stop shielding them,” Boshielo said.

In this year alone, she said, SAPS had arrested more than 19,000 people in connection with gender-based violence. More than 1,700 people had been convicted, some sentenced to life imprisonment. Others were handed 20 years or more behind bars.

According to national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, police are investigating at least 20 cases of women who have come forward to identify suspects who they say kidnapped and robbed them.

Some of these cases were reported in Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein, Midrand, Ogies, Nelspruit, Pretoria and Johannesburg, Boshielo said.DM

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South Africa

An angel and visionary

Background

Olorato was ‘part of Wits family’

Don’t shield children who commit crime, parents warned