Tony Forbes, father of slain Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, sat in the public gallery of the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to face the men accused of killing his son.
Speaking to the media after the brief appearance of the five accused, he said he believed that more arrests were possible and the mastermind who had ordered the hit on his son was still out there.
Forbes was shot dead outside Wish Restaurant on Florida Road in February last year. His friend, Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, was also killed in the shooting. However, police said this week that Forbes had been the target.
Five of the seven men facing charges for the murders appeared in court on Thursday. The remaining two suspects are in custody in Eswatini while the extradition process gets under way to bring them to South Africa.
Forbes said that it was important for the family to be there to find out who was really behind the murders.
“We are still only at the bottom of the pyramid and will be getting closer to the truth in this process. I believe the co-ordinator of Kiernan’s murder is among the arrested and I still feel that there is somebody who paid the co-ordinator, and more investigation needs to be done. My gut feeling is there is a mastermind out there.”
Forbes said he came to court to see who the suspects were.
“When they came in it was the first time that I had seen them. We needed to see who did this to Kiernan and Tibz.
“I thank the investigating team, who have worked tirelessly. They started the investigation last year and they have kept us informed on the investigations.”
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) provincial spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the arrests had come after collaboration between the NPA and the police, through a prosecutor-guided investigation.
She said the accused – Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, 30, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, 35, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, 21, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni, 36, and Lindokuhle Lindo Ndimande, 29 – appeared on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder (Forbes), murder (Motsoane), unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and five counts of attempted murder.
Ramkisson-Kara said the matter was provisionally adjourned to March 6 for bail verification.
“The men will remain in custody in the interim.”
Police Minister Bheki Cele, who was also in court, said it was important for police not to reveal sensitive information in an investigation as it could compromise the case.
“We could not allow for the case to break down or be withdrawn. The fact that the case has been enrolled means that the NPA are satisfied with the work that was done by the police.
We don’t expect any hiccups with the extradition of the remaining two suspects from Eswatini.”
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said members who had been involved in charging the suspects in other cases should be appreciated for the work they had done.
“We can only be proud as management of the SAPS. We traced the suspects and found them in Eswatini but we did not want to cross over and catch them because we have to respect the legal process.
“We discussed with the NPA that we know the location and got intelligence members keeping an eye on them. We made an application that was processed in Eswatini and the arrests were effected on Saturday morning.”
The Mercury