The case against Tonia Mphemba Hlongwane and Thulani Collen Ndwandwe returned to the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court on July 13.

The duo appeared in District Criminal Court 2 (DC2) to apply for bail.

Hlongwane (accused one), who is an administrative clerk at Alberton’s human settlements department, is alleged to have hatched a plan to have the director of the department in Alberton killed.

Along with his co-accused, Ndwandwe (accused two), they are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, and according to investigators, more charges could be added as investigations continue.

Ndwandwe and Hlongwane were arrested in early July by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (DPCI/Hawks) East Rand Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit (SOCIU) after the director reported receiving information about an alleged plan to kill her after she blocked suspected corrupt activities.

The director reportedly prevented the illegal sale of government RDP houses to non-beneficiaries, which led to the alleged plot to have her killed.

Hawks investigator testifies:

At their bail hearing, the court heard testimony from a Hawks officer leading the investigation into Ndwandwe and Hlongwane’s alleged plot to kill. “Your worship, I do not think the accused must be released on bail because they could interfere with the investigation. They could intimidate witnesses,” said the investigator.

The investigator also told the court that the previous director was shot dead and that a probe is underway to determine if the two cases could be linked.

The presiding magistrate disagreed with the State, saying there is no evidence to show that the accused could interfere with the investigations.

Ndwandwe and Hlongwane were released on R3 000 bail each. The case was postponed to August 25 to give investigators more time to gather more evidence.

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