AKA Murder Trial Halted After Cellphone Handed To Defendant

AKA‘s murder trial ended early Tuesday after reports that someone slipped a cellphone to one of the seven men accused of killing him.

Judge Nomfundo Sipunzi ordered the public out of the Durban courtroom before adjourning proceedings over what she described as a security issue. East Coast Radio reported that the concern involved an alleged cellphone handoff, though the station had not received formal confirmation.

The judge met with prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba in her chambers before police and court staff began moving through the room.

The interruption cut short the second day of a trial that began Monday with all seven defendants pleading not guilty. The men face 11 shared charges over the February 2023 deaths of the South African rapper and chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane. Prosecutors allege the group helped plan and carry out the killings, with charges covering murder, conspiracy, attempted murder and gun offenses.

Police have described an operation involving shooters, men assigned to track AKA and someone who arranged the guns and getaway vehicles.

Earlier Tuesday, Sipunzi ruled that defendant Siyanda Myeza would face six extra charges linked to a 2022 case in a separate trial.

AKA, born Kiernan Forbes, was 35 when he and Tibz were shot outside Wish restaurant in Durban on February 10, 2023. The rapper had finished dinner on Florida Road and was saying goodbye outside when the gunmen approached the group.

Surveillance footage captured him embracing a friend just seconds before the attack, according to TimesLIVE’s account of the recordings. A man wearing a white sweater and hat walked toward the group, looking back down the street as he approached. He then raised a gun and rushed toward AKA, firing at close range before running across the road to escape.

Police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said the attacker moved around a parked car and approached from behind before shooting the rapper.

“He did not shoot the friend that was with him, but he shot AKA twice, and he ran away,” Mkhwanazi said.

A second gunman fired toward the group and killed Tibz, according to Mkhwanazi, who said AKA was the intended target.

Investigators later said a spotter had followed AKA from the airport to his hotel and watched him inside the restaurant. Police said the attackers planned to shoot him in a vehicle but changed course when he stayed outside greeting his friend.

The case took more than three years to reach trial, with AKA’s parents and Tibz’s father attending Monday’s opening proceedings.

The seven defendants remain in custody, with the trial expected to resume in Court W at 10 a.m. Wednesday, October 7.