Court hears R803,455 transferred from Bright Circle account to AKA murder accused

Ask AI 2minMziwethemba Gwabeni in the Gucci t-shirt is alleged to have paid his co-accused the following day after AKA and Tibz were killed on Florida road in February 2023.

Within one minute and 24 seconds of R803,455 landing in Bright Circle’s FNB account, the money was being transferred to the personal FNB account of murder accused Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni.

This was the picture painted by FNB employee Ashley Wilson, who testified in the Durban High Court on Tuesday about the movement of money in the hours following the murders of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend, celebrity chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane.

The court heard that the R803,455 payment into Bright Circle’s account came from another FNB account, with the reference “transport”. Wilson’s testimony did not establish the origin of the money before that payment or who had initiated it, leaving unanswered questions about the source of the funds.

The total amount reflected in Bright Circle’s account was more than R822,000.

According to Wilson, the money was subsequently split into several transfers over a period spanning roughly 6pm to shortly after 8pm on the day after the murders. The transactions carried references that appeared to describe ordinary personal expenses.

Gwabeni, whom the State alleges acted as a money distributor among the accused, transferred a combined R133,000 to four of his co-accused: Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, Lindokuhle Mhlaliseni Ndimande and Malusi Ndimande.

The payments carried references including dividends, wedding things, taxi loan, buying cows and Gwabs Mining.

The seven men charged with the murders of AKA and Tibz consulting with their lawyers at Durban High Court as witnesses from the banks testified about transactions that happened after the two friends were killed.

Siyanda Eddie Myeza, whom the State alleges supplied the firearms used by the shooters, was the only accused who did not feature in the transfers from Gwabeni’s account.

Bright Circle’s sole director is Mfundo Gcaba, a member of the controversial and prominent KwaZulu-Natal Gcaba family, which has links to the taxi industry.

The company and its relationship with Gwabeni featured during the accused’s 2024 bail application, when Gwabeni told the court that he had a business relationship with Bright Circle and that the money paid into his account was for services rendered. His bail application was unsuccessful.

Wilson told the court that Malusi Ndimande was the only accused who received his money in a single payment, deposited into his Capitec Bank account with the reference “six months salary”.

He was also the only recipient whose full name, rather than just initials, appeared on the transfer records.

The other accused received their payments in two instalments of R100,000 and R33,000, with their accounts identified by initials. The references attached to the transactions included descriptions such as personal expenses and business payments.

Wilson was able to identify one account holder listed as “ZL” because it was an FNB account he could access.

“The owner of this account is Zenzele Ndimande. On his account it shows R100,000 coming into the account with reference, ‘Gwabs Mining’,” Wilson said.

Before Wilson took the stand, Capitec Bank forensic analyst Ashley Soomaroo had taken the court through bank statements reflecting R33,000 deposits into some of the accused’s Capitec accounts.

The deposits matched the smaller of the two payments Gwabeni had made from his FNB account. Soomaroo’s evidence also showed that one of the payments went into the Capitec account of Mkhwanazi’s wife.