Airport Camera Catches Accused Man Trailing AKA Hours Before Florida Road Shooting

Security cameras at King Shaka International Airport caught a man who is now believed to have been rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes as he passed through the terminal on the evening of 10 February 2023. This was just hours before the celebrity was shot and killed outside Wish Restaurant on Durban’s Florida Road. Presented as evidence in the current proceedings at the Durban High Court, the tape follows AKA’s movements across numerous frames as he passes through the departures hall that nite. It places one of the seven accused individuals in this context.

The accused allegedly viewed the video and passed along information about the musician’s whereabouts to colleagues who were waiting outside the Berea strip, according to the prosecution. The counsel representing the defence challenged the clip’s chain of custody, stating that the court cannot accept timestamps as conclusive without first undergoing independent forensic testing. But the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s investigators insist the evidence shows a major step forward in proving premeditation.

The footage is part of a larger surveillance package that covers three provinces, according to Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority, who verified this to journalists outside the courtroom on Tuesday. Both sides’ legal teams have till Friday at the end of business to submit written arguments to Judge Shyam Gyanda regarding admissibility. The inquiry is ongoing, according to Hawks spokesman Philani Nkwalase, who informed reporters that further digital material is still being analysed in Pretoria’s laboratories.

Authorities have described the killing of AKA and renowned chef Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane on 10 February 2023 as a deliberate hit. Both men were 35 years old when they were killed. The subsequent seven-man manhunt continued into late 2024 and spanned the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The case, which has captivated the entertainment industry and attracted international media interest since the artist’s death, involves the accused facing charges including murder, conspiracy, and illegal possession of firearms.

The public gallery was left cold by one detail from Tuesday’s testimony: an investigator claimed that the airport footage shows the man in question stopping at a bottled water kiosk at 21:47, looking over at AKA’s entourage, and then turning away—a move that prosecutors are describing as intentional reconnaissance caught in four seconds of high-definition footage.

Legal disputes over a single timestamp have the potential to postpone justice by weeks, leaving seven families still waiting for closure. Can the four seconds of airport footage finally put an end to every South African fan’s incessant question who ordered this? when the verdict comes?

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