Thousands of fans and fellow artists joined the family of slain rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Johannesburg, to bid an emotional farewell a week after he was shot dead.
Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane were shot and killed while standing outside a popular restaurant on Durban’s busy Florida Road on February 10.
The Forbes family is making a limited number of tickets available to fans for a public memorial service on Friday.
In a moving event, kwaito artist and pastor Kabelo Mabalane reflects on the times he has shared with the slain rapper, while his friend and colleague Thabo Bogoba Junior, professionally known as JR, reflects on their friendship of more than 15 years.
“I can’t remember exactly how Keirnan and I met, but one moment that stands out for me is when I asked him to accompany me to a show in Durban – this must have been in early 2010,” said Bogoba, reminiscing about how Forbes will always remind that he had taken her to her first out-of-town show.
“Thus began this solid love affair and a long love affair with the city [Durban]. That makes it harder to accept that the city he loves will take him from us,” Bogoba told the audience, which included Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
TV personality Boity Thulo told the Mail & Guardians he is praying for the Forbes family and girlfriend AKA Nadia Nakai.
“I wouldn’t say AKA is a colleague. I’ve known him since before we were stars and he’s always kept it incredibly real. The best part is that he’s unapologetic about who he is and it’s unfair that he’s gone so fast,” said Thulo .
Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini, the founder of the vigilante group Dudula, which in the past few years has attacked immigrants in South African cities, accusing them of committing crimes, told M&G Forbes’s death is a reflection of the true state of the nation, rather than what President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined before parliament last week.
“The state of the nation is not what the president says, but what we see in our daily lives in reality. AKA’s death is proof that the criminal state of the country has taken over the democracy and we are in trouble,” said Dlamini.
“We don’t believe in the justice system. Where is the justice for Senzo Meyiwa?” he asked, referring to the soccer player who was killed in 2014 in a still-unsolved case.
“Where is the justice for Citi Lyts? The list is endless. So, AKA is just one of them and we will be forced to normalize (death) and forget about him.
Forbes will be laid to rest in a private funeral on Saturday.