A suspect wanted for the murder of a South African university student has been killed in a shootout with the police.
The man was linked to the death of Olorato Mongale, whose body was found in Johannesburg on Sunday, about two hours after she was reported missing having gone on a date.
In the early hours of Friday morning, police officers found the main suspect hiding at a residential complex in the coastal town of Amanzimtoti, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said.
The suspect, who has not been named by the police, shot at the officers, who returned fire and killed him, Brigadier Mathe added.
Ms Mongale’s death has sparked a fierce debate about the levels of violence faced by women in South Africa.
In an impassioned statement, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu called the killing “inhumane” and “gruesome”, adding: “To all men, this is a plea – simple, urgent, and human: Please, stop killing women.”
The search for two other men linked to Mongale’s killing continues, while police have arrested the parents of the deceased suspect.
The suspect’s mother is accused of enabling him to “evade arrest” by tipping him off about the police’s presence at her house.
The police also said that the suspect’s father is the owner of a VW Polo allegedly used in Ms Mongale’s murder.
Earlier this week, the police named the three suspects linked to the killing as Fezile Ngubane, Philangenkosi Sibongokuhle Makhanya and Bongani Mthimkhulu.
Two of them – Mr Makhanya and Mr Mthimkhulu – were last month arrested for kidnapping and robbing a woman in KwaZulu-Natal, using the same VW Polo involved in Ms Mongale’s murder but had been freed on bail, police said.
