NATIONAL: The Hawks have recovered a cache of military grade weapons and stopped an alleged plot to assassinate a senior government official.

The multi-disciplinary operation on the East Rand has also resulted in the arrest of a Department of Human Settlements administrative clerk and an accomplice.

The case dates back to 2024 when a Department of Human Settlements official lodged a complaint for being targeted by hitmen after trying to block internal corruption activities involving the illegal sale of government RDP houses.

The suspects allegedly attempted to ambush the official on a few occasions, made telephonic death threats and also fired shots at the official.

On Thursday, 02 July 2026, the team of investigators from the Hawks’ East Rand Serious Organised Crime Investigation (SOCI) unit tracked the first suspect to Mpumalanga Province.

He was arrested, and a search of his premises uncovered an arsenal of weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle, four 9mm pistols, an automatic pump-action shotgun, two .308 high-calibre rifles and an air rifle.

While the suspect holds licences for these firearms, the entire arsenal and ammunition have been confiscated for urgent ballistic profiling to determine if they have been used in other violent crimes.

The operation continued on Friday, 03 July 2026, when the team, joined by the Hawks’ Digital Forensic Investigation Unit descended on the Alberton Human Settlements Department offices. The team executed the second warrant of arrest on an administrative clerk within the department, who is believed to be the internal mastermind behind the assassination plot.

Investigators seized four laptops and seven cellular phones from the premises for urgent digital forensic analysis. Both suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

The accused, Thulani Collen Ndwandwe (49) and Tonia Mphemba Hlongwane (48) were remanded in custody at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court today until their next court appearance on 13 July 2026 for a formal bail application.