By Francesca Hangeior

South African police have apprehended six suspects connected with the murder of popular rapper, Kiernan Forbes, mostly known as AKA, and his close friend, celebrity chef and entrepreneur Tebello “Tibz” Motshoane.

The duo were murdered on February 10, 2023, while walking with a friend outside a popular Durban restaurant hours before he was to perform at a nearby club.

AKA started his musical profession as part of the rap group ‘Entity’ before he ventured into a lone career.

Until his demise, he won several awards in South Africa and was lauded globally. He earned Black Entertainment Television and MTV Europe nominations and he was honoured posthumously in the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards.

According to the police, the suspects are to appear in court on Thursday.

“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. We know they were paid for this,” KwaZulu-Natal provincial Police Commissioner, Lt Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said Tuesday night.

South Africa Police Minister, Bheki Cele confirmed that the murders of AKA and his friend said to have been caught on Closed-Circuit Television cameras, shocked many residents of the country, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

“I hope South Africans will sleep better after this,” he said.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest murder rates with a number of entertainment stars among the victims.

Recall that in 2007, reggae singer Lucky Dube was dropping off his teenage son at a relative’s home when gunmen shot him three times during a failed attempt to steal his car.

The southern African nation recorded almost 84 murders a day between October and December, according to police statistics released this month.