Stolen Mercedes-Benz helped lead police to alleged AKA killers

Rifle cartridges, muthi and matchsticks at the mouth of a petrol tank.

These are some of the items police found in an abandoned Mercedes-Benz linked to the alleged killers of musician AKA.

The vehicle was allegedly driven by the suspects in a separate incident where they shot dead a man, wounded a woman and hit a pedestrian as they fled the scene.

The incident happened on March 6 2023, less than a month after Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane were shot dead in Durban. 

An affidavit from the National Prosecuting Authority stated the wife of a taxi boss in Umlazi, Durban, had picked up a man who assisted her to get taxi operating permits in Morningside and they were en route to Berea to drop off the man when they were ambushed by gunmen in a Mercedes-Benz. 

The woman tried to hide behind her car’s steering wheel while screaming for help. She realised her passenger had been hit by a bullet. She drove off while the assailant continued to shoot at her vehicle.

The woman reached a garage on Umbilo Road, where the manager and police assisted her. Her passenger died inside the car.

“While fleeing the scene of the shooting, the assailants’ vehicle collided with a pedestrian, injuring the pedestrian. The vehicle continued to drive away at high speed. The pedestrian managed to take down the registration number of the white Mercedes-Benz,” read the affidavit.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in Cato Crest informal settlement and investigations showed there had been an attempt to burn it.

The vehicle was splattered with Coca-Cola cooldrink and two burnt matchsticks were found at the mouth of the petrol tank. Two rifle cartridge cases were found in the back seat while one rifle cartridge case was found in the front seat. There were also three bullet holes on the driver’s side window. The car had false registration plates and investigations into the ownership showed it had been stolen in January 2023. 

“One of the assailants also purchased airtime from a tuck shop a few metres from where the vehicle was abandoned. Investigations revealed Siphamandla Ngcobo was identified as the person who recharged his phone with the airtime purchased from the tuck shop,” read the document. 

Ngcobo was arrested on March 26 last year for robbery with aggravated circumstances in respect of the stolen Mercedes-Benz. 

Using cellphone records and a car tracking system, police determined Siyabonga Ndimande to be the kingpin in the murder of AKA, while Lindelani Ndimande provided instructions on how the murder was to be executed.

The brothers are suspects in the murders of AKA and Tibz. 

SowetanLIVE