“AKA was the happiest I had ever seen him”

The owner of the restaurant at which rapper Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA,  and his friend Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane were killed in Durban has spoken out for the first time since the shooting.

Philani Kweyana, who is also a music promoter and DJ, says AKA and his friends were there on Friday to support his restaurant Wish and barbershop.

Two gunmen killed the two men as they were leaving the restaurant, with AKA due to give a birthday performance at a nightclub.

Kweyana says he had known AKA for 12 years.

He says that evening AKA was the happiest he had ever seen him.

“It’s so sad. It’s so, so, so sad. The conversations that we were having within this dinner that we were in, the throwbacks, talking about things that happened in the past. Talking about hip hop and how this new genre, Amapiano, is taking over and what they’re doing to bring it back. You know he was so inspired. He had plans. He had plans on doing a show, a whole show with a choir. He had so many plans that he was going to do. And he was going to do this show here in Durban ICC.”

A night vigil was held for AKA and Tibz on Sunday night, with people laying flowers outside the restaurant on Florida Road.

Meanwhile, police in KwaZulu-Natal say they are yet to make an arrest in connection to the two murders.

More details in the report below: