AKA murder trial: State links recovered Mercedes to CCTV footage

AKA murder trial: State links recovered Mercedes to CCTV footage as prosecutors seek to connect a white Mercedes-Benz recovered in Cato Manor to a vehicle seen near the scene where rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and celebrity chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane were murdered.

The Durban High Court heard that police recovered the Mercedes-Benz on 6 March 2023, less than a month after the fatal shooting outside Wish restaurant on Florida Road on 10 February 2023.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions advocate Lawrence Gcaba told the court on Monday that the State intended to present evidence linking the recovered vehicle to one captured in CCTV footage recorded around the time of the killings.

Constable Rajen Saunder, a police witness who has testified in the trial, confirmed that he attended the scene where officers recovered the vehicle. He told the court that he observed several similarities between the Mercedes-Benz and the vehicle shown in the footage.

The evidence forms part of the State’s case as seven men stand trial in connection with the murders of Forbes and Motsoane. The allegations must still be tested in court, and the accused are entitled to the presumption of innocence unless found guilty.

AKA murder trial focuses on recovered Mercedes-Benz

The recovered Mercedes-Benz has become a significant point of interest in the prosecution’s attempt to reconstruct the events surrounding the double murder.

According to testimony reported by the Mercury, Saunder identified several features that appeared similar between the vehicle recovered in Cato Manor and the car visible in CCTV footage.

These included tinted windows, a panoramic roof, similar rims and a left headlight that was not working.

“Similarities were there,” Saunder told the court while describing his observations.

The witness’s testimony is intended to help the State establish whether the recovered vehicle could be the same Mercedes-Benz seen in the footage connected to the shootings.

However, similarities between two vehicles do not, on their own, conclusively establish that they are the same vehicle. The court will have to consider the evidence alongside other information presented during the trial.

Why the vehicle matters to the State’s case

The prosecution alleges that the white Mercedes-Benz was used as a getaway vehicle after the gunmen attacked Forbes and Motsoane outside Wish restaurant.

According to the State’s version, the two gunmen fled on foot after the shooting and ran towards a nearby park, where the Mercedes-Benz had allegedly been parked.

CCTV footage reportedly showed two men running across the road in the direction of Gordon Road after the shooting.

The prosecution is seeking to connect the movements captured on the footage with the vehicle recovered weeks later.

Establishing the vehicle’s identity and its possible role in the incident could help investigators explain how the alleged gunmen approached the scene and what happened immediately after the shooting.

The court must still assess whether the evidence supports the State’s allegations and whether the vehicle can be reliably linked to the crimes.

CCTV footage places vehicles under scrutiny on Florida Road

CCTV footage has played an important role in the investigation into the murders of AKA and Tibz.

Saunder previously testified that he began extracting footage connected to the killings on 11 February 2023, the day after the shooting.

During his testimony, he identified two vehicles of interest seen on Florida Road on the night of the murders: a white Mercedes-Benz and a Volkswagen Polo Vivo.

The footage is being examined as investigators attempt to establish the movements of people and vehicles around Wish restaurant before and after the shooting.

Volkswagen Polo Vivo also features in the evidence

Saunder identified Lindokuhle Mhlaliseni Ndimande as a passenger in the Volkswagen Polo Vivo.

Footage played in court reportedly showed Ndimande entering Wish restaurant and sitting in a position from which he could observe Forbes and his entourage while they were having dinner.

During a bail application in 2024, investigating officer Kumarasan “Bob” Pillay identified Ndimande as an alleged spotter.

The allegation suggests that investigators believe he may have monitored Forbes before the shooting. However, this remains an allegation presented in the legal proceedings and should not be treated as a finding of guilt.

The footage and related testimony form part of the State’s broader effort to establish the sequence of events leading up to the killings.

The court will need to consider the reliability and significance of the evidence, including what it shows about the movements of the accused and the vehicles under investigation.

Witnesses describe the moments before the shooting

Previous witnesses have also described what they allegedly saw from a park opposite Wish restaurant on the night of 10 February 2023.

The witnesses testified that they were returning from church after attending a youth service and were sitting on benches in the park when they noticed two men crossing the road towards the restaurant.

The men were reportedly wearing bucket hats and balaclavas.

According to their testimony, one of the witnesses’ friends remarked that the men appeared to be going to commit a robbery. Shortly after the men crossed the road, the group heard gunshots.

One witness, identified as Witness X because they cannot be named, told the court that they remembered seeing one of the men cross the road before hearing the shots moments later.

The witnesses also testified that they saw one of the men running back towards the park in the direction of McDonald’s while carrying what they described as a silver firearm.

Their accounts are relevant to the timeline of the shooting and may be considered alongside the CCTV footage and other forensic evidence.

However, eyewitness testimony must be assessed by the court together with the rest of the evidence. The witnesses’ accounts alone do not establish the identity or guilt of the alleged perpetrators.

AKA and Tibz murders: Seven men stand trial

Seven men are standing trial in connection with the murders of Forbes and Motsoane.

The accused are Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, Mziwethemba Harvey Gwabeni, Lindokuhle Mhlaliseni Ndimande, and brothers Malusi Dave Ndimande and Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande.

The prosecution is presenting evidence intended to establish the alleged roles of the accused and reconstruct the events surrounding the killings.

The evidence includes CCTV footage, witness testimony and information relating to vehicles allegedly seen around Florida Road.

The case has attracted considerable public attention because Forbes was a prominent South African rapper, while Motsoane was a well-known celebrity chef and his friend.

Both men were shot dead outside Wish restaurant on 10 February 2023.

The trial is examining the circumstances of their deaths and the allegations against the seven accused. The defence has the opportunity to challenge the State’s evidence through cross-examination and other legal procedures.

Defence expected to question police witness

The defence was expected to begin cross-examining Saunder on Tuesday, following his testimony about the recovered Mercedes-Benz and the CCTV footage.

Cross-examination will give defence lawyers an opportunity to question his observations, the identification of the vehicle and the process used to extract or examine the footage.

Such questioning is an important part of criminal proceedings because it allows the court to assess the reliability of witness testimony and examine possible weaknesses or inconsistencies in the evidence.

The State’s case linking the Mercedes-Benz to the vehicle seen near Florida Road remains an allegation that must be evaluated through the trial.

Further testimony may provide additional information about the vehicle’s recovery, the footage and the alleged movements of the people involved.

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Vehicle seen on CCTV footage detailed at AKA murder trial

What happens next in the AKA murder trial?

The connection between the recovered Mercedes-Benz and the CCTV footage is one of several evidentiary issues being examined in the Durban High Court.

Prosecutors are seeking to demonstrate how the vehicle may have been used in the alleged getaway, while the defence is expected to test the evidence presented by the State.

The court will ultimately have to determine whether the prosecution has proved its case against each accused beyond a reasonable doubt.

For now, the testimony about the vehicle’s tinted windows, panoramic roof, rims and faulty left headlight provides details of the similarities observed by the police witness.

The AKA murder trial continues as the State presents evidence linking the recovered Mercedes-Benz to CCTV footage recorded around Florida Road. The outcome will depend on the full body of evidence heard by the court and the legal arguments presented by both sides.

References from mainstream media