Olorato Mongale’s Cousin Speaks Out After Suspect Shot and Killed in KwaZulu-Natal

• One of Olorato Mongale's family members spoke out after the Bloemfontein, Free State woman was killed
• Mongale's body was found in Lombadry West, Johannesburg, on 25 May 2025, after going on a date with a man she met in Bloemfontein, Free State
• Her cousin said her death left a void in the family, and the police for apprehending the suspects

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

BLOEMFONTEIN, FREE STATE — One of Olerato Mongale's cousins spoke up about the impact her death has had on the family. Mongale's body was found on 25 May 2025 in Lombardy West, Johannesburg, after going on a date with a man she met at a mall in Bloemfontein, Free State.

Olorato's cousin speaks up

105Online Newz posted a video of her cousin on its @105OnlineC X account. He said that the family received information that members of the South African Police Service in KwaZulu-Natal shot and killed one of the suspects.

The relative said that the family was not expecting the outcome of one of the suspects being shot and killed in a shootout. He said the family would have liked to see the man who took the family's heart.

"We would have liked for him to have his day in court. We wanted to see who this guy is and look him in the eyes and see what was going on. We were probably not going to get the answers we were looking for, and that's okay, but we would have gotten some answers," he said.

View the X video here:

What happened to Olorato?

Olorato reportedly went on a date wth one of the main suspects after they met at a mall in Bloemfontein, Free State. Her body was found hours later in Lombardy West, Johannesburg.

The police got into a shootout with one of the suspects, and he was fatally wounded. More suspects were arrested. The police also uncovered that Mongale was a victim of a syndicate that kidnapped and robbed women after meeting them at malls.

What you need to know about the Olorato case

• A candlelit vigil was held in honour of Olorato Mongale after she was found killed in Lombadry West, Johannesburg
• The police confirmed that a syndicate was behind the death of Olorato Mongale, and the syndicate targeted women they met at malls
• One of the suspects was killed during a shootout with members of the police in KwaZulu-Natal
• Raid personality Sizwe Dhlomo reacted to the death of Olorato and to the killing of one of the suspects
• Radio personality Sol Phendula sparked a debate after he weighed in on the death of one of the suspects involved in Olorato's murder

SAPS arrests more suspects

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the police arrested more suspects involved in the case of Olorato's murder. The arrests came after one of the suspects was shot and killed in KwaZulu-Natal.

The police also launched a manhunt for two more suspects after another suspect handed himself over to the police. South Africans celebrated the arrests.

Source: Briefly News