The Ndimande brothers, who have been linked to the 2022 murder of a taxi owner in Amanzimtoti as well as the murders of artist Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his friend Tebello Motsoane, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court today.

South Coast Sun reports Malusi and Siyabonga Ndimande fled to Eswatini after police got hot on their trail following investigations that linked them to the crimes. They were arrested in Mbabane in February, sparking a months-long fight against being returned to South Africa to stand trial. Their extradition followed after they abandoned their court fight against being brought back into the country.

Amanzimtoti taxi boss shooting

On November 9, 2022, a 57-year-old taxi owner was gunned down at Seadoone Mall in broad daylight as he finished loading groceries into his car. In a video that circulated widely on social media, two gunmen could be seen taking turns shooting him even as he had fallen to the ground. His teenage son, who was in the car, was unharmed.

In a 2024 affidavit, the KZN director of public prosecutions, Advocate Elaine Harris, said the Ndimande brothers had been identified as suspects in the taxi owner’s killing. She said the siblings come from a family that owns a fleet of taxis, and it was suspected that the owner’s murder had something to do with taxi-route disputes.

AKA murder case

Musician AKA and Motsoane were shot and killed as they exited a Florida Road, Durban restaurant on the evening of February 10, 2023, just three months after the taxi owner’s murder.

A total of seven suspects have been arrested for AKA’s shooting and five have appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court, while the Ndimande brothers were fighting extradition. At the time of the arrests, KZN police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi confirmed that forensic testing had shown the firearm recovered during the AKA investigation was also used to kill the taxi owner.

In total, the Ndimande brothers are facing 24 charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, murder, attempted murder, and the unlawful possession of automatic firearms and ammunition.

The Witness reports their lawyer argued today that more information still needs to be collected as a result of their extradition.

The case was postponed to January 9.

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