The murder case of five men charged with killing Kiernan Forbes, also known by his stage name AKA, and his friend Tebello Motsoane has been postponed to next week.
Mziwethemba Gwabeni, 36; Londokuhle Ndimande, 29; Lindokuhle Mkhwanazi, 30; Lindani Ndimande, 35; and 21-year-old Siyanda Myeza returned to the Durban magistrate’s court on Wednesday to face 14 charges.
The charges include two counts of murder, unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
Senior prosecutor, advocate Elvis Gcweka, told the court that money-laundering has been added to the charge sheet.
Formal bail application
The matter was adjourned to March 14 for a formal bail application.
“On 14 March, the matter will be postponed to 18 and 19 March. It is foreseeable that we will not be able to finalise the matter in these two days,” said magistrate Vincent Hlatshwayo.
“It will then be postponed to March 27 for bail application purposes.”
Meanwhile, two more accused, Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande and his brother Malusi Ndimande, appeared in court in Eswatini on Tuesday.
They are believed to have played different roles in the murder of the acclaimed rapper and his celebrity chef friend outside the Wish restaurant a year ago.
The posh entertainment establishment, which was closed later in 2023, was located on Durban’s Florida Road.
Celebrities frequent Florida Road
The area is known for drawing celebrities from the entertainment industry, and there are several bars nearby.
The Ndimande brothers come from a feared family that owns a fleet of taxis across KwaZulu-Natal and several other provinces.
Law-enforcement authorities have applied for the siblings to be extradited in order for them to join their co-accused in a South African court.
Sunday World reported at the weekend that hours before AKA and Motsoane were shot dead, someone deposited R800 000 into the account of a man police believe assembled a team of killers and also paid them.
A police investigation established that R800 000 was deposited into businessman Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni’s FNB account at about 2pm on February 10 2023.
