A prominent South African businessman, identified as Sydney Mfundo Gcaba, has been implicated in the murder of popular rapper AKA, according to police reports.
AKA, whose real name is Kiernan Forbes, along with his close friend Tibz Motsoane, was fatally shot outside a restaurant in Durban on February 10 last year.
An investigating officer presented a statement to the court revealing that a company owned by Sydney Mfundo Gcaba allegedly transferred over 800,000 rand ($42,000; £33,000) to the bank account of one of the suspects currently on trial for the rapper’s killing. The payment reportedly occurred the day after AKA’s murder.
Furthermore, the prosecutor cited phone records indicating that the suspect who received the money, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni, allegedly contacted Mr. Gcaba before the transaction was finalized.
While Mr. Gcaba has not responded to the prosecutor’s statement, it is alleged that the money was evenly distributed among the seven suspects implicated in the case.
In an affidavit, Mr Gwabeni claimed to have received the funds as payment for consultation services rendered to the company.
However, the prosecutor argued that there is insufficient evidence to support Mr Gwabeni’s claim of providing any such services.
Sydney Mfundo Gcaba is associated with the influential Gcaba family, which holds significant interests in a taxi empire and various other businesses across the coastal KwaZulu-Natal province and South Africa as a whole.
As investigations continue, authorities have yet to establish a motive for Mr Gcaba’s alleged involvement in AKA’s murder, leaving unanswered questions surrounding the tragic incident.