As the high-profile murder trial of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane resumes in the Durban High Court, a former police officer has testified about tracing a firearm allegedly used in the killings to an April 2023 arrest in Umlazi.
Witness Testimony and the Hunt for the Florida Road Firearms
The high-profile murder trial underway at the Durban High Court entered a technical and evidentiary phase as police witnesses detailed the recovery of weapons linked to the shooting. Seven men are standing trial for the February 10, 2023, killings of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane on Florida Road. The seven men accused of murdering rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane have been relaxed and chatty in the dock of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban, even joking with journalists. All seven accused pleaded not guilty when the trial began on Monday.
A former member of the South African Police Service Tactical Response Team took the stand to describe an operation in April 2023 at Umlazi’s L Section. Acting on a tip from the Crime Intelligence Unit, officers approached a structure where Siyanda Eddie Myeza—accused number three—was located. The officer testified that he had to forcefully open the door, which was already slightly ajar, after knocking and announcing that they were police.
A third police witness later testified to checking out two firearms from exhibits storage at Bhekithemba Police Station following instructions from the lead investigator. Forensic testing involving touch DNA was performed on the weapons, though officers declined to comment in court on whether those tests linked specific individuals to the exhibits.
Ballistic Evidence Links Firearm to Mayville Shooting
The defense has sharply contested the circumstances surrounding Myeza’s arrest and the handling of evidence.
The trial has also navigated complex procedural hurdles regarding separate charges. The State introduced testimony regarding a May 2022 shooting at a BP garage in Mayville, Durban, where taxi boss Gift Khanyile and his bodyguards were shot. Ballistic evidence from thirty spent cartridges collected at that scene subsequently linked a firearm recovered in the investigation to the Florida Road murders.
Although Myeza faces 17 charges—including additional counts of attempted murder, conspiracy, and vehicle theft—while his co-accused face 11, the Durban High Court granted an application to separate the Mayville charges from the main murder trial involving Forbes and Motsoane. Meanwhile, Judge Nomfundo Sipunzi amended an earlier directive, lifting the witness reporting ban to allow accredited media to broadcast and report on witness testimony and admitted exhibits while protecting witnesses’ personal identities.
Victims Families Suffer Personal Toll During Trial
Outside the courtroom, the proceedings carry a profound personal toll for the victims’ families. Sylvester Motsoane, father of Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, reflected publicly on the painful coincidence that the trial began on October 5, exactly three years after the passing of his wife, Rayhab Niniwe Motsoane, who passed away in October 2023, just months after losing their son.
Killing my son cost the death of my wife… I was shattered. I was a wreck.
Sylvester Motsoane, father of Tebello Motsoane
Logistical and security challenges have repeatedly interrupted the high-stakes proceedings. Proceedings were initially affected by a power outage on Monday morning.