Rapper AKA laid to rest in private ceremony

 

Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA, has been laid to rest following a private ceremony at the Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg.

He was killed outside a Durban eatery on Florida Road with his long-time friend, Tebello Tibz Motsoane on February 10, Friday night.

On Friday, a funeral service was held at the Sandton Convention Centre at 3 PM.

The online tickets for AKA's memorial service were sold out in a matter of hours, following confirmation on Tuesday from his family that a memorial service will be held on Friday.

Only a limited number of tickets were made available on WebTickets.

South African police say evidence gathered so far leads them to believe the killing of popular rapper AKA was an assassination.

KwaZulu-Natal police chief Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said the gunman had approached AKA from behind and shot him at close range in the side of the head.

A second gunman then started firing to deter onlookers from responding to the "hit", he added.

One of these rounds killed AKA's friend, celebrity chef Tibz Motsoane.

While police work to establish a full picture of what happened to AKA, his father has asked people to stop speculating on social media.

Tony Forbes says the family is focusing on giving their son "a dignified send-off", and he has thanked the many well-wishers whose support is "making it easier to cope".

He has also paid tribute to Motsoane, saying he was "like a brother" to AKA.

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South African rapper AKA laid to rest
Image: Twitter

Investigators are now using the suspects' data to piece together their communication and movements in the run-up to the killings, Gen Mkhwanazi has told the Newzroom Africa TV channel.

"We know that the aim was to first kill AKA, and the second suspect could have killed any other [person] because they fired a couple of shots - so anybody who was on the way could have been hit," he says.

AKA will be buried on Saturday in a private funeral ceremony attended by only family and close friends.