All seven suspects accused of the murder of rapper AKA and his friend Tebello Motsoane will line up together for the first time at the Durban High Court in June. The KwaZulu-Natal brothers linked to the 2023 Florida Road murders were back in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Brothers, Siyabonga Ndimande and Malusi Ndimande, who were both arrested in the country, were formally served with an indictment yesterday.
The two siblings were extradited from the country last year.
KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Kara confirmed that their case has been transferred to the Durban High Court.
“This was a consolidated indictment where their names appear alongside the other accused who are also charged with the murders of Kiernan Forbes and Tebello Motsoane, amongst other charges. The case will now return to the Durban High Court on June 19, for a pre-trial conference.”
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The brothers were arrested in the country in 2024, weeks before their five co-accused were taken into custody in South Africa.
On April 10, the brothers abandoned their bid for bail in the Durban Magistrate’s Court.
They appeared calm and chatted among themselves throughout the proceedings. However, when the matter was called, their attorney, Sibusiso Dlamini made a sudden U-turn, informing the court that the brothers would be abandoning their bail application.
Following their return, the brothers appeared in court and have since been formally charged in three separate cases, including the 2023 murders.
The murder trial in the ‘AKA’ case is expected to get underway in July.
Additional Context (For Readers)
The case remains one of the most high-profile criminal trials in Southern Africa, given AKA’s influence in the music industry. The consolidation of all accused into one trial signals that prosecutors are moving toward a coordinated prosecution strategy, which could accelerate proceedings but also increase legal complexity.
