Seven arrested in rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes murder case

The South African police have arrested seven individuals in connection with the murders of rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane. According to the BBC, five of the seven suspects are expected to appear in court on Thursday. AKA was shot dead, alongside Tibz last year in front of a restaurant on Florida Road, Durban.

The award-winning rapper’s death comes on the heels of his former girlfriend Anele Tembe who died on 11 April 2021, after she fell off the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Loop Street, Cape Town. TV news outlets eNCA reports that at the time, Tembe was accompanying AKA to a gig in the city. While AKA claimed his fiancee’s death was a result of her suicide, he faced ongoing scrutiny in the months that followed. This followed the leaks of viral videos of their volatile and violent arguments during their relationship.

After AKA’s death on 10 February 2023, a leaked letter to the National Prosecuting Authority revealed how the Tembe family suspected the rapper had allegedly pushed her off the hotel balcony. The letter – from the family’s attorneys – also shared their beliefs of what they believed happened during and after Nelli’s fatal fall. This included allegations that AKA ignored Nelli, who was still alive for 20 minutes after the fall, and cleaned up the blood in the hotel room, possibly concealing an altercation.