GAUTENG – The Hawks’ East Rand Serious Organised Crime Investigation (SOCI) unit has arrested two suspects, including an internal Department of Human Settlements clerk, for allegedly orchestrating an assassination plot against a senior housing director. The multi-disciplinary operation dismantled a syndicate targeting the official after they actively blocked the illegal sale of government RDP houses to non-beneficiaries.
The intensive investigation was initiated in 2024 following a formal complaint lodged by the targeted government official. According to Hawks East Rand SOCI spokespersons, the official faced escalating intimidation from hired hitmen, which included multiple failed ambush attempts, telephonic death threats, and a direct shooting incident.
Acting on meticulous intelligence gathering, investigating officers secured arrest warrants and tracked the first suspect, 49-year-old Thulani Collen Ndwandwe, to Mpumalanga Province on Thursday, 02 July 2026. A search of his premises uncovered a staggering arsenal of military-grade firearms. The seized cache included an AK-47 assault rifle, four 9mm pistols, an automatic pump-action shotgun, two .308 high-calibre rifles, and an air rifle.
Hawks officials confirmed that while the suspect holds valid licenses for the firearms, the entire arsenal and accompanying ammunition were confiscated. The weapons are currently undergoing urgent ballistic profiling to determine if they have been utilized in other violent crimes.
The operation continued on Friday, 03 July 2026, when investigators, joined by the Hawks’ Digital Forensic Investigation Unit, descended on the Alberton Human Settlements Department offices. Authorities executed a second arrest warrant on 48-year-old Tonia Mphemba Hlongwane, an administrative clerk within the department who is believed to be the internal mastermind behind the assassination plot. During the search of the premises, investigators seized four laptops and seven cellular phones, which have been submitted for urgent digital forensic analysis.
Both Ndwandwe and Hlongwane appeared at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court, where they were formally charged with conspiracy to commit murder in terms of Section 18(2)(a) of the Riotous Assemblies Act 17 of 1956.
The Hawks East Rand SOCI spokespersons confirmed that both accused have been remanded in custody and are scheduled to reappear in court on 13 July 2026 for a formal bail application.
