Former National Prosecuting Authority director in KZN, Advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa, will now represent all the accused in the Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane murder case — including those facing extradition from Eswatini.

The Witness reports that Mlotshwa was already representing two of the accused. The matter, now transferred to the High Court, returned today for a pre-trial conference following the indictment of the accused in February.

AKA and Tibz were gunned down outside the popular Durban restaurant, Wish, on February 10, 2023.

The five men — Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande (35), Siyanda Eddie Myeza (21), Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni (36), and Lindokuhle “Lindo” Ndimande (29) — were arrested in February 2024.

They made a brief appearance at the Durban High Court today for the pre-trial.

The matter was postponed to June 12 after state prosecutor Advocate Lawrence Gcaba informed the court that the defence attorney was in Eswatini handling the extradition proceedings of two other accused, Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande.

The group faces several charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and five counts of attempted murder.

In addition, Mkhwanazi, Ndimande, Myeza, and Gwabeni face charges of money laundering involving the acquisition, possession or use of proceeds from unlawful activities.

During a previous court appearance, the state revealed it had obtained surveillance footage from King Shaka International Airport allegedly showing Gwabeni waiting for AKA upon his arrival in Durban on the day of the murder.

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