The lawyers acting for Mziwethemba Gwabeni, the alleged mastermind behind the murders of South African rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, told the Durban Magistrate’s Court that the state lacks evidence that Mfundo Gcaba paid for the hit.
Gcaba, 44, is from a well-known family in the KwaZulu-Natal taxi and security sectors.
The prosecution alleges that Gwabeni organised the hit with funds from Gcaba, targeting AKA and unintentionally killing Tibz at the same time.
However, Gwabeni’s defence argues there is no evidence linking Gcaba to the crime and that if such evidence existed, Gcaba would have been arrested.
Investigations showed a payment of R803,000 from Gcaba to Gwabeni, which was allegedly distributed among the individuals accused of the murders.
The use of “consult” as a reference in the transactions has been seen by the investigating officer as a possible attempt to disguise the payment’s true purpose, linking it to the killings.
Both Gwabeni and Gcaba have argued the transaction was for legitimate business purposes and unrelated to the crime.
AKA and Tibz were murdered outside a Florida Road restaurant in Durban in February 2023, leading to investigations into murder, money laundering and attempted murder charges involving seven people.
While two of the accused are awaiting extradition from Eswatini, five are being held at Westville Correctional Services in Durban.
The case was postponed to 2 May for final bail applications.
Compiled by staff writer
Pictured above: The AKA murder suspects.
Image source: File
