PH
South African police announced on Tuesday that six persons had been arrested in connection with the death of Kiernan Forbes, also known as AKA, one of the country’s most popular rappers, last year.
The 35-year-old artist was gunned down on February 10 last year while walking with a companion outside a prominent Durban restaurant, hours before he was scheduled to perform at a nearby nightclub.
“Six people have been arrested and will appear in court on Thursday,” police minister Bheki Cele said during a press conference in Durban.
He stated that the oldest suspect was 36, and that more could be added to the list.
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, provincial police commissioner, informed reporters that the “mastermind,” two gunmen, two spotters, and “the organiser of firearms and vehicles” were all in jail.
Several of those arrested were linked to other murder cases, he claimed, with two being held in the neighboring landlocked country of Eswatini.
Police cooperated with Interpol and the Eswatini administration to apprehend two people who were “hiding” there, and extradition processes would be initiated, according to the commissioner.
Mkhwanazi said police suspected the reason but did not reveal it.
It was found that the rapper was tracked from his landing at Durban International Airport to the eatery.
South Africa has one of the world’s highest murder rates with a number of entertainment stars among the victims.
In 2007, reggae singer Lucky Dube was dropping off his teenage son at a relative’s home when gunmen shot him three times during a failed attempt to steal his car.
The southern African nation recorded almost 84 murders a day between October and December, according to police statistics released this month.
