AKA Tibz murder case postponed to August pre‑trial

AKA

Durban – The murder case involving seven men accused of killing rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane has been postponed to 13 August for a pre-trial conference in the Durban High Court.

The postponement will allow for a pre-trial conference involving brothers Malusi and Siyabonga Ndimande, who were extradited from Eswatini last year and appeared alongside their five co-accused for the first time.

The trial is scheduled to run from 5 October to 8 November.

The court is also considering the Ndimande brothers’ application to be transferred from Ebongweni Maximum Correctional Centre to Westville Prison to improve access to their legal team.

During proceedings on Thursday, defence lawyers told the court they were not ready for trial and requested a two-month adjournment, citing difficulties in consulting with their clients.

The defence argued that consultation sessions are limited to 30 minutes and that the extensive case docket requires significantly more time to prepare.

Lawyers also complained about the logistical challenges of travelling more than two hours to meet their clients, who are being held at the high-security Ebongweni Correctional Centre in Kokstad.

Despite the defence’s concerns, the State indicated that it was ready to proceed with the trial and had prepared witnesses for the July court session.

The seven accused face charges including murder, conspiracy to commit murder and firearm-related offences linked to the February 2023 shooting of AKA and Tibz outside a restaurant on Durban’s Florida Road.

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