The case against five of the seven suspects arrested in connection with the murder of rapper Kiernan ”AKA” Forbes and celebrity chef, Tebello ”Tibz” Motsoane was postponed to 6 March 2024, at the Durban Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The suspects are Lindokuhle Ndimande, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi and Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni.
They’re facing charges that include conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and five counts of attempted murder.
This emanates from the brutal double killing of Forbes and Motsoane last year outside a restaurant in Florida Road, in Durban.
Following a short adjournment, the suspects were ordered to remove their face masks and hoodies, as they were using them to hide their identities.
This despite one of their attorneys arguing that it would pose safety risks if they were granted bail.
In addition, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi raised suspicions on the calibre of lawyers representing some of the accused.
“To pitch up here and be represented by an expensive lawyer, it’s concerning. It brings a question of whether these lawyers are doing this to serve and make sure that the people get their rights in terms of the law, or they are just doing it for money. But I’m not a lawyer, I don’t have an LLB, I don’t know what it entails,’’ said Mkhwanazi.
Meanwhile, Police Minister Bheki Cele is adamant that two of the two suspects arrested in Eswatini, will be extradited to South Africa soon, to face similar charges.
AKA’s father Tony Forbes has commended the police for the arrests of the suspects but warned that he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the mastermind behind the killings has been arrested and urged the police to pick up the trail on how the suspects were paid to kill AKA.
“Police should be able to pick up the trail, find out where it came from and continue the investigation. Is this the true mastermind? My gut feeling says no, I haven’t done the investigation I’m just speculating,” explained Forbes.
Mkhwanazi said more arrests are imminent.
