Authorities are on high alert following the murder of 30-year-old Olorato Mongale, with a suspect identified as "John" driving a cloned vehicle linked to the crime.
Image: Social media
A Johannesburg woman, who was found murdered after she was picked up by her date, had told her relatives to search for her if she didn't return from the outing.
Olorato Mongale, 30, was found murdered near Lombardy, north of Joburg. The police have now launched an urgent manhunt for a man known only as John who is believed to have picked her up.
The suspect is believed to be driving a white VW Polo bearing a cloned number plate — LT 57 JG GP — which is registered to a Toyota Hilux.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said Mongale was last seen on May 25 after being picked up from her residential complex by a man driving a white VW Polo, with whom she had planned a date. That same vehicle is now linked to her murder, and a search is underway for the suspect, known only as John.
“The man fetched Olorato at her residential complex in Athol, Johannesburg, at around 3:00 pm on Sunday, 25 May 2025. He drove with the victim in the township of Alexandra, proceeded to Kew and between Alexandra and Lombardy West in Johannesburg, this man allegedly murdered Olorato and dumped her body.”
Mathe said that several of Mongale’s items, such as her phone and handbag, were found discarded on 9th Road in Kew, Johannesburg. Her body was discovered shortly afterwards in the vicinity.
“Her body was found in less than two hours at around 16:50 in Lombardy West on Monday afternoon by the SAPS with the assistance of community members,” she added.
She further said police are probing whether a second man was involved in Mongale’s alleged murder.
“Gauteng police are investigating the possibility that 'John' was with another male suspect when they allegedly murdered Olorato,” said Mathe.
Mathe said police were investigating similar cases in the area, following the discovery of a 39-year-old woman’s body dumped on the side of Catherine Street in Sandown, Sandton, on May 8. A month earlier, another body was found under similar circumstances.
“Our investigators are analysing all these cases to see if we have one perpetrator for these particular incidents,” she added.
Family spokesperson Criselda Kananda said that the family has been left shaken by the death as Mongale had told her friends to search for her should she not send them a message revealing her whereabouts in an hour following her outing.
“We are devastated by this tragic loss and we ask that you continue to keep her family in your prayers...Her friends began to get worried after two hours passed without Olorato sending them a location. They then activated ‘Find My Location’, and it led them to a house in Bramley. The friends found her bag and cellphone outside the house,” she said.
Activist, Rosie Motene said that gender-based violence and femicide is a pandemic in South Africa.
"The brutal killing of Olorato Mongale is not an isolated incident—it’s part of a devastating pattern. As an activist who has worked in this space for over two decades, I can say with confidence that the situation is far worse than statistics show. Many survivors do not report due to fear, intimidation, lack of access, or a justice system that continues to fail them. In both my personal and activist roles, I’ve witnessed firsthand the barriers survivors face just to open a case."