AKA murder trial: Friend tells court Tibz said he could not breathe after Durban shooting

A friend of slain rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes told the Durban High Court on Tuesday that Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane repeatedly said he could not breathe after the shooting outside Wish restaurant on Florida Road.

Musician and event organiser Lusaso Ngcobo was among the group that was with the rapper and his chef friend on the day they died.

He testified that after the group heard a gunshot, they ran back into the restaurant; however, he went back to help Motsoane, who had fallen during the commotion.

Police evidence was also heard on Tuesday. It tied accused three, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, to a separate shooting in Mayville, which the state used to link the two cases.

The group includes Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi (accused one), Lindani Zenzele Ndimane (accused two), Siyanda Eddie Myeza (accused three), Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni (accused four), Lindokuhle Mhlaliseni Mkhwanazi (accused five), Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande (accused six), and Malusi Dave Ndimande (accused seven).

Witnesses asked to stay off camera

Ngcobo took the stand after state prosecutor Elvis Gcweka raised concerns about witnesses being shown on television.

He said fears grew after one witness’s picture was shared on social media and the witness received texts.

Gcweka said the witnesses were willing to testify.

“They don’t have a problem with coming to testify; their only request is that their faces must not be shown on TV,” Gcweka said.

He explained that the concerns were both personal and financial.

“Some of them is because of fear and some because of their businesses,” Gcweka stated.

Judge Nomfundo Sipunzi then ruled that Ngcobo’s face must not be broadcast for any reason.

What happened outside Wish restaurant

Ngcobo said he had known Forbes since about 2013. On the day of the shooting, he testified that he went to Bride and Groom for his usual Friday haircut between 6pm and 6.30pm.

The court heard that Forbes and his team arrived about 15 minutes later, and the group later went to Wish for a meal.

Ngcobo described the evening as a relaxed reunion. “We sat at Wish for maybe around 2 hours, conversing, eating, catching up, telling stories of the past and the future. He even told us of his plans for a new album. It was just a catch-up session between old friends and associates,” Ngcobo told the court.

When it was time to leave, the group walked out through a passage meant for the restaurant exit and stood on the pavement to say goodbye.

“At that moment we were saying we’re gonna see each other later,” he said, adding that Forbes had a gig that night. “Then I heard a sound like a firecracker at that moment. My first reaction to that was obviously to duck because I don’t know what it was, because I couldn’t see what it was. I just heard a loud bang. I saw everyone running; I think I then realised this is not a safe situation [judging] from the loud noises we were hearing,” he told the court.

Ngcobo further added that he then realised the sound was a firearm and not fireworks, and then he ran back into the corridor entrance/exit of the Wish restaurant.

Under cross-examination, Ngcobo said it was his first time seeing Forbes’ bodyguard that night, and that he did not recall seeing the guard before and after Forbes and Tibz were shot.

Friend tried to help Tibz after the shooting

Ngcobo told the court that after he ran into the corridor, he looked back and saw that Motsoane had tripped and fell.

“When he fell, I looked back and checked if he was okay, and maybe a minute after we had run inside. As I looked back, I looked straight down the corridor, and I could see the body of Kiernan while I was approaching Tibz to see if he was okay,” Ngcobo said.

“I proceeded to go to Tibz to check if he was okay because I could see blood, but I’m not sure if it was on him or on the floor,” Ngcobo said.

He then tried to find out whether Motsoane was hurt. “As I went to him I asked him ‘are you okay?’ because he stayed on the floor, he didn’t get up,” Ngcobo explained, adding that Tibz responded repeatedly saying he couldn’t breathe.

Motsoane stopped responding when pressed further. Ngcobo said the group found a wound on his chest, under his left arm, as he lay slightly against a wall.

“We tried to get towels to try to block the blood from coming out, and then we tried calling an ambulance or paramedics to get further assistance on how we can help with this situation,” Ngcobo recalled.

He added that when they finally got hold of someone on the phone, they were told not to use towels to stop the blood, but to use plastic instead.

Fingerprint evidence links Myeza to Mayville shooting

Investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Zakkariah also testified on Tuesday.

He gave evidence on the Mayville case, in which Myeza is charged separately.

Zakkariah said fingerprints were lifted on the scene of the Mayville case from the rear right passenger door of a Toyota Etios linked to the shooting.

According to his testimony, he received a set of prints bearing Myeza’s name on 7 October 2026 from investigating officer Warrant Officer Kumarasan “Bob” Pillay.

He said these matched the prints from the car, and photographs he took showed a dead person in the driver’s seat.

He told the court that fingerprints are unique. “No two persons have the same finger, foot or palm prints,” Zakkariah said.

He then drew his conclusion. “Therefore, I have no doubt that the prints that have been handed in belong to no other than Eddie Myeza,” Zakkariah affirmed.

Airport footage and earlier evidence

Surveillance analyst Siyanda Khuzwayo continued his testimony on Tuesday after first taking the stand on Monday.

He showed footage of a man following Forbes at King Shaka International Airport on the day of the shooting. The man was seen following Forbes and his entourage into a car rental place before turning back to the arrivals entrance/exit point where the camera showed he’d emerged.

Before going out of frame, he was seen talking to three men.

Advocate William Nicholson, Gwabeni’s lawyer, alleged the three men were showing him directions, but Sipunzi dismissed this as an assumption rather than fact.

Previous testimony has placed Gwabeni at the airport on the day of Forbes and Motsoane’s demise.

The state also questioned the date stamp on the footage, which read 01-10-1970.

State prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba said that because the date on the footage was old, it read 01-10-1970 Saturday 12:12, Khuzwayo was told that this suggested that the footage was tampered with.

“You indicated that you have documents to show that this camera was not tampered with?” Gcaba asked, to which Khuzwayo confirmed.

When asked by the defence why the date was so, Khuzwayo said he could not explain it. “That’s for a technician; I’m not a technician. I’m only a surveillance analyst,” Khuzwayo said.

The trial continues on Wednesday in the KZN High Court in Durban.