I grew up in a shebeen where I was tasked with manning the music player. Back in the 80s I would slam Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Brook Benton, Donna Summer, Stimela and Lucky Dube. I know all the lyrics of the reggae star’s albums, Slave and Prisoner.
When he was tragically murdered in a botched hijacking, I was gutted.
At the time of his demise, Dube was not that big in South Africa, but he was a force to be reckoned with outside the country, not least in the Reggae Mecca of Jamaica.
He was mourned from Zimbabwe to Nigeria.
I was flabbergasted when one of his killers claimed they did not know who he was when they shot him, as if that was a mitigating factor.
Lucky Dube’s music is timeless and from time to time, I still belt out his tunes. Remarkably, he was not even a Rastafarian and had started his music journey singing mbaqanga.
I am reminded of Lucky Dube in light of the understandable outpouring of grief following the callous assassination of hip hop sensation, Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his manager, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, three weeks ago.
AKA’s execution, captured live on CCTV, has fuelled speculation from social media detectives, while his killers remain at large.
I pity the cops tasked with investigating the two deaths because this case is under the microscope, and a nation jaded by crime will not countenance shoddy work.
In a country where murder is a national sport, I understand very well the public interest surrounding AKA’s demise, considering his celebrity status.
What is beyond my comprehension is the ongoing fascination with his wealth, his daughter, his previous romantic affairs and everything in between.
Every Tom, Dick an Mary feels emboldened to comment on how the mother of AKA’s child, DJ Zinhle, ought to mourn and behave.
The release of his last album, Mass Country, has also fuelled speculation that he foresaw his death. His every lyric is under scrutiny. Some clown called Slik Talk raised the temperatures of AKA’s fans when he claimed Mass Country was a hatchet job and not worthy of all the attention it has attracted.
It’s sad.
It won’t be long before some idiot claims AKA faked his own death. It’s happened before with Elvis Presley and Tupac Shakur.
To make matters worse, some little known maskandi dancer, Queen Lolly, has crawled out of the woodwork to claim that she was AKA’s side chick.
The murder footage has been analysed to death and online detectives have put AKA’s associates under the microscope.
Adding to the mystery is the claim that he was warned never to set foot in Durban.
The father of his late fiancée Anele Tembe also fuelled speculation when he released a statement distancing himself from his death. This after many of his fans linked him to the execution.
Let the man rest in peace.
Let his killers be found and justice be served.
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