A suspect linked to the murder of Olorato Mongale (30) has reportedly handed himself over to police. This comes just hours after the death of the main suspect Philangenkosi Makhanya, who died in a shootout with police in the early hours of Friday morning in Amanzimtoti.
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Police began a manhunt for Phila Makhanya, Fezile Ngubane, and Bongani Mthimkhulu. “The second one suspect handed himself over to police in KwaMashu. The other one, I’m told ran somewhere, out of the country. That means nothing, we will find him. I did appeal to them to hand themselves over to the nearest police station. On Thursday morning, police have arrested an elderly man. This comes after a VW Polo that was allegedly used in the crime and later found in Phoenix in Durban. Late on Wednesday, police named three suspects they believe may be involved in her death. “We have broken the back of a syndicate that is targeting women, especially young women, in malls… for kidnapping and robbery,” said police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe.
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The main suspect in Olorato’s murder case was shot and killed in a police shootout in Amanzimtoti, KZN in the early morning operation. The confrontation unfolded at a flat where the suspect was hiding, escalating into a deadly shootout when he opened fire on approaching officers. According to Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the deceased confessed to the murder of the 30-year-old to a friend, the owner of the apartment where he was hiding. “The suspect apparently rented a vehicle from the man, and he came to rent the car again. But the guy didn’t give him because he had seen his photo circulated on social media and that he was wanted for something,” Mkhwanazi said. “He kept him in his home, interrogating him and he confessed to the murder. The man said he wanted to commit suicide and not hand himself to the police,” he added. “The man spent the whole day with him. He even locked him in the house – went to buy food and the whole day they were together until the evening when we arrived,” Mkhwanazi added.
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Mkhwanazi said the deceased suspect did not confess directly to the police. “He told him what he did in Johannesburg, and he will be the one giving a statement. He didn’t talk to the police. He was trying to counsel him and prayed with him, encouraging him to hand himself over to the police.” Police are still searching for others believed to also involved in Oloroto’s murderer. The 30-year-old university student’s body was found dumped in Lombard West in Johannesburg after going on a date on Sunday. Police intelligence led them to one of the suspects’ houses in KwaMashu.
