AKA murder accused Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, 30, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, 35, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, 21, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni. AKA murder accused Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, 30, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, 35, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, 21, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni. | Anelisa Kubheka
Image: Anelisa Kubheka
Durban — The fate of the men accused of killing Kiernan Jarryd “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane remains uncertain as two new charges were added to their matter.
The mood in the room of the Durban Magistrate’s Court was somewhat sombre for the relatives of the accused, after the fate of their loved ones remained unclear, following another court appearance.
Five of the seven accused – Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, 30, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, 35, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, 21, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni, 36, and Lindokuhle Lindo Ndimande, 29 – made their second appearance in a packed courtroom, buzzing with sounds of cameras flashing and seats largely occupied by friends and families of the accused.
The Forbes family were absent from court.
The suspects are accused of shooting and killing musician Forbes, 35, and his friend, celebrity chef Motsoane, 41, outside the Wish restaurant on Florida Road, Durban, in February last year.
The accused are facing 10 charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, murder (Forbes), murder (Motsoane), unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and five counts of attempted murder. Two additional charges of money laundering were added by the State.
The men initially made their first appearance at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday last week after their arrest, and the matter was provisionally postponed to Wednesday, where they made a brief second appearance for the verification of certain aspects of the bail application.
The accused are further reported to have received a payout of R800 000 for the hit. KwaZulu-Natal Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Elvis Gcweka told Magistrate Vincent Hlatshwayo that Gwabeni had been charged in connection with allegations of receiving money and distributing the funds with the four other accomplices who stand accused of receiving funds obtained illegally.
Magistrate Hlatshwayo indicated that the matter would be postponed to March 14 for the bail application, while the accused are to remain in custody at the Westville Prison in the interim.
He added that it would be heard in a different courtroom in order to allow for everyone to be accommodated as the initial courtroom was “too small”.
The two other accused in the case, brothers Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande, were arrested in eSwatini last week and appeared at the Manzini District Court on Tuesday.
Their matter was postponed to March 12, and the court awaits extradition papers from the National Prosecuting Authority in South Africa.
Speaking to the media, attorney Yolanda Gielink, a representative of Myeza, who is said to be a taxi owner, reiterated the claims of her client’s innocence.
“He has got nothing to do with it. He has got no previous convictions, but all of a sudden there are a lot of cases being brought up against him.
“His dad used to be a taxi owner and he passed away, so if there are a lot of taxi owners involved in these cases, then it means that he was rounded up, as usual suspects are rounded up.
“If a deceased is not within the taxi-related industry, it is unlikely that he would fall victim to a taxi-related skirmish or shoot-out. I do not think the two deceased had anything to do with the taxi industry, so it is an unlikely scenario for me,” she said.
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