Durban artists hold special farewell prayers for AKA and Tibz

Artists in Durban held a special send-off prayer for renowned Hip Hop artist Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes and his close friend Tebello Motsoane. The two were gunned down on Friday night as they were leaving a restaurant on Florida Road.

Their sudden death sent shockwaves throughout the country. No arrests have been made as yet.

Leading artists in Durban gathered where AKA and his close business associate Motsoane were fatally wounded.

Fans pay last respects to Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes:

Artists used the moment to make a clarion call to end attacks on musicians. In the past three months two other popular artists, Dj Sumbody and Vusi Ma R5 were gunned down in Gauteng.

“We need to strengthen the security around artists. We need to find measures to strengthen it, especially around the popular creatives because it’s becoming a trend that artists are killed in this fashion,” says the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of SA, Sonwabile Mzinyathi.

“If the artists now have to spend more money in terms of beefing up personal security, that’s a bit of a cost. I think government needs to do better in terms of making sure our streets are safe and making sure that those who break the law are found and jailed,” says Artist Dj Tira.

“We have converged here as artists from eThekwini to pay our last respects to AKA and to say we are against what’s said on social media about the circumstances around AKA’s death. We are sending our condolences to AKA’s family during this difficult time,” says Artist Thobekile.

VIDEO: Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes fatal shooting in Durban under police investigation: Jayde Paulse updates 

eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda says criminals have robbed South Africa of an ambassador and an artist who was recognised worldwide.

“This is a big loss, a great loss to the industry. Losing such an ambassador who was an internationalist because he was no longer recognised only in South Africa and Africa, in the world as a whole, we view this as one of the unfortunate incidents in the City. But police are working tirelessly to expedite the investigation to get to the bottom of the matter and find the perpetrators and those who sent people, who opened fire. But beyond that, we are also looking at how can we best ensure that we guarantee safety in our City and places of leisure in townships.”

Authorities say they are tightening security around the city.

“We are also equipping metro police with relevant technology. We have brought them body cameras so that when they do their work, they can enhance their performance. But we are also increasing the number of police officers in the metro. At least in each and every year, we will have 400 trained metro personnel,” adds eThekwini mayor Kaunda.

The investigation by the police’s organised crime unit is still continuing.