SA police arrest seven suspects over AKA murder

AKA, born Kiernan Jarryd Forbes on 28 January 1988, was shot dead in the coastal town of Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province on 10 February 2023. He was killed along with his friend Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane by two gunmen in front of the Wish restaurant on Florida Road. Following the killings, no arrests had been made with the authorities saying detectives were interviewing scores of people and analysing video footage of the incident.

Six of the suspects were arrested on the evening of 27 February and one on the morning 28 February. All the suspects are expected to appear in court on 29 February.

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner lieutenant general Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said one of the suspects was arrested last year in April in connection with another crime. He also said police have since recovered four vehicles, firearms believed to have been used to commit the murder and cartridges picked up at the scene.

“It was clear that AKA was monitored from the airport and Tibz was not the intended target in the murder on Florida Road in Durban,” Mkhwanazi said at a press conference on 27 February. “We know they were paid for this.”

KZN Minister of Police Bheki Cele said: “I hope South Africans will sleep better after this. We are all interested to know what the motive was. It is very clear that it was not a case of someone waking up in the morning angry. You can see that in the build-up and coordination.”

AKA began his music career in high school with rap trio Entity, alongside Vice Versa and Greyhound. He worked with top local artists including Nasty C, Anatii, Khuli Chana, K.O, Yanga, Da L.E.S, ProKid and JR. His success was cemented with the release of albums such as Levels (2014), Be Careful What You Wish For (2017) with Anatii, Touch My Blood (2018) and Bhovamania (2020).

AKA won several accolades at the South African Music Awards, African Muzik Magazine Awards, MTV Africa Music Awards, South African Hip Hop Awards, Metro FM Music Awards, Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and the Namibia Annual Music Awards.