South African police believe that one of the suspects in the murder of a female university student may have fled across the border into Zimbabwe.
Bongani Mthimkhulu, from Zola in Soweto, is being sought in connection with the killing of Olorato Mongale. Police have identified him as one of two men involved in the crime.
Mongale, a student at Wits University, had reportedly told friends she was going on a date shortly before she was found murdered.
The main suspect, Philangenkosi Makhanya, was shot and killed by police on 29 May during a standoff at a residential complex in Amanzimtoti, a coastal town south of Durban.
According to KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Makhanya confessed to the murder before his death.
His confession was relayed by a man who had been sheltering him while he was on the run. Said Mkhwanazi:
This guy here (resident at Amanzimtoti flats where Makhanya was found hiding) tells us that when he interviewed the deceased, he told him that one of the suspects said he was going to Zimbabwe. We don’t know about that, we’re still trying to locate him.
South Africa’s Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo vowed that Mthimkhulu would be found — “dead or alive.” Said Boshielo:
We will also not rest until we find Mthimkhulu. We are still searching for him. He and Philangenkosi Makhanya were working together and they were a syndicate that was targeting women in various malls across the country.
Our investigation is now standing at 22 cases that they are linked to these two criminals. Women from across the country have positively identified them as the pair that kidnapped and robbed them.
South African police are believed to have requested assistance from their Zimbabwean counterparts in locating Mthimkhulu. The two countries have an existing extradition agreement in place.
More: ZimLive
Back to top