Mkhwanazi anticipates more arrests in AKA and Tibz murder investigation

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, has expressed confidence that additional arrests will be made in the murder case of Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane.

The rapper and his friend/manager were gunned down on Florida Road, Durban in February 2023. So far, police have arrested seven suspects linked to the murder of the two.

This week, Mkhwanazi told the media that the proceedings were going well.

MKhwanazi says no stone will be left unturned regarding AKA’s murder

“The picture is unfolding behind the scenes and as we investigate, and it is very interesting what we are beginning to see. We are working closely with the NPA to ensure that all leads are followed. More arrests [are] expected, no stone will be left unturned,” said the police commissioner.

“It’s been very interesting to witness the picture which has been unfolding in the background. No-one will be spared once we find out the person behind the crime which shone a spotlight on our province,” he said.

Earlier this year, Mkhwanazi stated that AKA was the intended target of the shooting and that Tibz was simply a coincidence. The murder trial is set to return to the Durban High Court on Friday.

Two additional suspects, Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande, 29, and Malusi Dave Ndimande, 28, were arrested in eSwatini. The men are currently contesting their extradition. Reflecting on the crime statistics in KwaZulu-Natal, Mkhwanazi mentioned that over 42,000 arrests have been made since the beginning of August.

“Over 14,000 of them were arrested for contact crime, 926 suspects were arrested for murder and 986 were arrested for attempted murder. A total of 8139 suspects were arrested for assault with intent kill, 639 drug dealers were arrested in the province. Most of them were foreign nationals and the drugs worth millions of rands were confiscated in the process,” he said.