AKA Assassination Trial Finally Reaches Courtroom After Years As Father Demands Justice

AKA’s father walked into a Durban courtroom on Monday (October 5), carrying the weight of three years of unanswered questions and unhealed wounds.

Seven men stand accused of orchestrating the coordinated hit that took the South African rapper’s life outside a restaurant on Florida Road in February 2023.

The trial that finally began Monday represents something between closure and reopening old scars for his family.

Tony Forbes, AKA’s father, showed up to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court knowing that watching the case unfold wouldn’t bring his son back, but also knowing he had to be there.

“The trauma is still there,” he told reporters according to eNCA. “It’s the first day and I am preparing myself for what could be another marathon. I don’t think it will be over quickly because it has to be done properly. It’s not going to bring Kiernan or Tibz back if it goes fast. It must be done properly.”

His words cut through the procedural noise of the courtroom, reminding everyone that behind the charges and the legal machinery sits a family still greiving.

The State’s case involves seven suspects, including brothers Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande, who fought their extradition from Eswatini for months.

They’re facing conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of murder, attempted murder, and firearms offenses. Prosecutors plan to call at least 45 witnesses to build their case, and the trial is expected to stretch across months.

What remains murky is the why. Authorities believe AKA was the intended target and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane was caught in the crossfire, but the motive behind the hit has never been publicly established.

Tony Forbes acknowledged this uncertainty head-on.

“It’s pointless,” he said about obsessing over motivation. “We’ve got to go through the process. I’m not even sure that the why will come out. For me, this is just the bottom of the pyramid, and we may never get there to understand the why and who.”

That admission carries more weight than any theory could, a father accepting that some answers might never arrive.

The suspects face potential life sentences for murder, up to 25 years for conspiracy to commit murder, and additional time for attempted murder and weapons charges.