The six suspects arrested in the murder case of musician Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known as AKA, and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane are due to appear in court on Thursday.
The suspects were arrested on Tuesday evening. They face charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, among others.
The announcement was made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, at the SA Police Service provincial headquarters in Durban.
The briefing was also attended by the police top brass, including Police Minister Bheki Cele and National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola.
Mkhwanazi said Forbes was the main target of the shooting, and not Motsoane, who was “at the wrong place at the wrong time”.
“The six suspects have played different roles during the operation. We have the coordinator, who is the master of everything. We have two shooters that we all saw on social media. We have two spotters. One of the spotters was inside the restaurant observing Mr Forbes and his friends, as well as the organiser of firearms and vehicles used as getaways,” Mkhwanazi said.
Mkhwanazi said the spotter initially followed Forbes from the airport to the hotel and to the restaurant where he was fatally shot.
Forbes was gunned down in Durban’s Florida Road on 10 February 2023 as he was leaving the Wish restaurant. Motsoane was also murdered.
According to Mkhwanazi, some of the cars used at the time of the murder were rented.
On 22 April 2023, the first suspect was arrested in Belhar, Cape Town. He was the alleged organiser who hired vehicles and guns. He was also in police custody for several unrelated murders.
On 24 October 2023, the second suspect, who was an alleged spotter, was arrested. He was linked to another unrelated murder in the Berea area.
Mkhwanazi said the suspects were linked to the AKA murder through four vehicles that were used in the planning, spotting and getaway, including a Mercedes Benz, BMW, Hyundai i10 and VW Polo.
Two of the vehicles had been rented and have since been returned to their owner, who has furnished the police with a statement.
