More than three years after South African rap star Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane were gunned down outside a Durban restaurant, the long-awaited murder trial is now unfolding before the High Court with witnesses reconstructing the final minutes before the fatal shooting.
Seven men have pleaded not guilty as prosecutors attempt to prove what authorities have described as an organised killing, making the proceedings one of Africa’s most closely followed celebrity murder trials.
The murder trial of South African rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and celebrity chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane is gathering momentum at the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban.
The pair were shot outside the former Wish restaurant on Florida Road, Durban, on February 10, 2023.
Seven men are standing trial in connection with their deaths and related offences. All have pleaded not guilty.
This week, witnesses who were with Forbes and Motsoane on the night of the shooting have been giving evidence, providing the court with a detailed reconstruction of the hours and minutes leading to the attack.
AKA’s road manager, Siyabonga Mdluli, told the court about events immediately surrounding the shooting and described seeing flashes from the direction of the gunfire as members of the group scrambled for safety inside the restaurant.
Earlier testimony from people in the rapper’s entourage described an evening that had begun routinely with dinner before gunfire suddenly erupted outside the restaurant.
The prosecution is seeking to establish not only who physically carried out the shooting but the wider alleged conspiracy behind the killings.
Police investigations have previously described Forbes as the principal target, with Motsoane allegedly caught in the attack.
One of the evidential issues attracting particular attention concerns firearms.
Investigators have alleged that a weapon connected with the killing was also associated with another murder investigation. The court has already dealt with an application concerning the separation of some charges linked to that separate incident.
The complexity of the prosecution reflects the nature of organised-hit cases. Prosecutors may have to combine eyewitness testimony, surveillance material, telephone records, firearm evidence, vehicle movements and alleged communications among defendants to establish the chain between those who allegedly planned a killing and those accused of carrying it out.
Judge Nomfundo Sipunzi is presiding over the proceedings.
The trial has also attracted intense public and media interest because Forbes was among South Africa’s best-known musicians. His killing generated widespread speculation long before formal trial evidence began.
That makes the court process especially important: ultimately, guilt or innocence must be determined from admissible evidence tested before the judge, rather than theories circulated outside the courtroom. EWN
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