Today (October 20) in the Durban High Court a witness highlighted the circumstances leading to the final moments of the late hip hop artist Kiernan “AKA” Jarryd Forbes and his friend and celebrity chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, on February 10, 2023 outside the Wish restaurant on Florida road.
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Seven accused, Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni, Lindokuhle Mhlaliseni Mkhwanazi, Malusi Dave Ndimande and Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande, face joint charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and firearm and ammunition-related charges, to which they have all pleaded not guilty.
The testimony was delivered by witness Lusaso Ngcobo who was a friend of the deceased.
He said that on the fateful evening, he had gone to the Bride and Groom barbershop at about 18:00, when Forbes walked in with his team about 15 to 20 minutes later. He said that Forbes ended up getting a haircut at the barbershop.
Ngcobo said that after shaving their heads, they proceeded to the now defunct Wish Restaurant on Florida Road to get something to eat and spent at least two hours. Motsoane joined them after they were already seated.
He recalled that they then proceeded towards the door to exit the restaurant, adding that while he could not remember who was leading them outside of the establishment, the two deceased were walking behind him.
Ngcobo said that the group then stood on the pavement, just outside the restaurant to bid farewell to each other, in hopes of reuniting later to unwind.
“We were saying we would see each other later and at that moment, I heard a loud shot. My first reaction was to duck down because I did not know what it was.
“I realised this was not a safe situation. I saw people running away and it dawned on me that I was not hearing fireworks and I ran into the passage of the restaurant.”
Ngcobo said that as they were running into the passage of the restaurant, Motsoane tripped and fell, however he was unsure of the cause at the time of the event.
He said that roughly a minute after running back inside, he looked behind to see where Motsoane was and that is when he saw Forbes also lying on the ground.
“I proceeded to check Tibz because I saw some blood. I do not recall if the blood was on him or on the floor.
“I asked him if he was okay, he kept saying, ‘I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe’. I then asked him if it hurts or something was wrong, he did not respond. We were trying to establish what exactly had happened to him. We tried to see where the blood was coming from, then we recognised the wound underneath his chest next to the left arm.”
Ngcobo said that they tried to stop the blood from gushing out using towels and cloths but were advised to use plastic instead, as towels further absorbed the blood. They then dialled emergency services.
A witness from the SAPS, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Zechariah, said that the firearm used in the murder of taxi boss Gift Khanyile in Mayville in 2022 could be linked to the one used in the Forbes-Motsoane incident.
Khanyile was shot and killed at a filling station while in his Toyota Hilux, after gunmen driving a Toyota Etios opened fire on him. The deceased’s co-passengers managed to shoot back at the occupants of the Etios and killed the driver, and the passengers subsequently fled the scene.
Zechariah said that the fingerprints lifted from the Etios’ rear passenger door matched those of the accused Myeza after he tested them on June 10, 2023. He said he tested the ring finger of Myeza again today, before the commencement of the court proceedings, and established similarities between the fingerprints from the two incidents.
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A firearm that was recovered from Myeza on the date of his arrest in Umlazi, two months after the shooting on Florida road, matched with some of the cartridges found at the crime scene where Forbes and Motsoane were killed, and the State argues that Myeza supplied one of the guns that were used to kill either Forbes or Motsoane.
Defence council Simphiwe Mlotshwa poked holes in the evidence, arguing that the fingerprints lifted from the Etios did not necessarily implicate Myeza in the murder as he worked at a car wash in 2022 and that would explain why his fingerprints are on the car.
The trial was adjourned for tomorrow and the suspects are remanded in custody.
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