AKA Murder Trial: Defence Questions Authenticity of CCTV Footage

• The Durban High Court viewed CCTV footage from 17 locations tracking suspects' movements before AKA and Tibz were shot dead outside Wish Restaurant
• A State witness testified that one of the accused appeared to tail AKA from King Shaka International Airport all the way to his Umhlanga hotel
• However, the defence advocate challenged the authenticity of the compiled footage, while the State witness maintained that timestamps confirmed the files were uncompromised

The Durban High Court sat through hours of compiled CCTV footage as prosecutors laid out a surveillance trail allegedly linking several accused to the murder of rapper Kiernan "AKA" Forbes and celebrity chef Tebello "Tibz" Motsoane. The two were shot dead outside Wish Restaurant on Florida Road on 10 February 2023.

Key state witness and SAPS technical detective Constable Rajen Sanders took the stand to present recordings drawn from 17 separate locations. The footage forms the backbone of the state's argument that the accused did not stumble upon the scene by chance but had been systematically tracking AKA in the hours leading up to the attack.

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Airport footage places accused at the scene

According to Sanders, footage from King Shaka International Airport shows accused number four, Mziwethemba Gwabeni, apparently shadowing AKA and his group from the domestic arrivals section through to the car rental area. The surveillance trail did not end there. State evidence also placed suspects monitoring the rapper's movements near his hotel in Umhlanga before they reportedly shifted their attention to Florida Road.

Inside Wish Restaurant, the picture grew sharper. Footage showed accused number five, Lindokuhle Ndimande, moving through the establishment while speaking on his phone. Sanders testified that Ndimande spoke to staff before taking a seat that offered a direct line of sight to AKA's party, moments before the shooting.

Defence questions footage integrity

The state has built its case using multiple witnesses, among them the late rapper's close friend and tour DJ, Don Design (Tshediso Mokoko), who was present on Florida Road when the attack unfolded.

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Under cross-examination, defence advocate William Nicholson pushed back on the reliability of the compiled video evidence, suggesting the footage may have been tampered with or altered before it reached court. Sanders did not waver, telling the court that digital footprints and timestamps confirm the recordings remained uncompromised from the point of extraction.

All seven accused have pleaded not guilty to 19 charges that include murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder. The trial continues.

AKA murder accused falls asleep during trial

In an earlier report, Briefly News shared online reactions to footage from inside the Durban High Court, which showed one of AKA's murder accused falling asleep during proceedings.

The man was seen with his head on the judge's bench during court proceedings, an image that left many online outraged.

Source: Briefly News