Cape Town – Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane’s alleged killers were arrested due to evidence linking them to other crimes, court documents have reportedly revealed.
AKA and Tibz were shot outside a Durban restaurant in February.
Citing the Sunday Times, EWN said that AKA was targeted and followed from the airport until his murder, with Motsoane becoming a casualty in a coordinated hit
The report said that four of the individuals implicated in the case are siblings from a notorious and influential family.
Local residents in Ocilwane, on the outskirts of Richards Bay, reportedly fear this family.
Two of the brothers, Siyabonga ‘Nxele’ Ndimane and Malusi ‘Mjay’ Ndimane, are currently in eSwatini awaiting extradition, while Lindani and Lindokuhle appeared in court alongside three other suspects.
The police tracked down the group after one of the men opened a bank account and used the card on the same day as the murder near the Florida Road area, the report said.
Court orders The alleged Killers of AKA and Tibz to uncover their faces during Appearance #JusticeForAKA pic.twitter.com/DBkNvch3q8
— News Live SA (@newslivesa) February 29, 2024
The alleged getaway car linked to the murders had fake number plates and had been stolen. It was later abandoned after a hit-and-run incident a month following the murders. Another suspect, who discarded the car, was tied to the killings after purchasing airtime from a local shop near the vehicle.
Further arrests were made using cellphone records that placed several of them in the Florida Road vicinity on the day of the murder.
The suspects are scheduled to appear in court again this week.
IOL reported on Friday that the seven men charged with the murder of the rapper and his friend, encompass a diverse group of individuals, including a businessman, a mining executive, four taxi bosses, and one unemployed suspect.
The police had kept the investigation silent for a year, leading to speculation of a cold case.
The suspects, arrested between April 2023 and February 2024, are believed to have been involved in a contract killing costing around R800,000, the report said.
The accused include an unemployed person, taxi bosses facing additional murder charges, a mining boss believed to be the coordinator, and a businessman. The suspects are set to appear in court again on March 6, said the report.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
