Bankers detail R822,000 money trail in AKA murder trial - TimesLIVE

A controversial payment of more than R800,000, allegedly made by Durban taxi boss Mfundo Gcaba to murder accused Mziwethemba Gwabeni, dominated proceedings in the murder trial of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane in the Durban high court on Tuesday.

The R822,000 allegedly paid by Gcaba to Gwabeni was transferred on February 11 2023, a day after AKA and Tibz were gunned down outside Wish restaurant on Florida Road in Durban.

Soon after the money went through Gwabeni’s account, he transferred R803,000 into one of his other accounts. He then moved R133,000 to the six others accused in the trial.

Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, 30, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, 35, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, 23, Gwabeni, 36, Lindokuhle Mhlaliseni Ndimande, 29, Malusi Dave Ndimande, 30, and Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande, 31, pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms when the trial began on October 5.

The transfers to the accused were made within two hours, between 6pm and 8pm with the reference “dividends”.

During the bail application stage of the case, it emerged that the money was paid by Gcaba to Gwabeni for business they conduct together.

It was also not the first time Gcaba had paid money to Gwabeni.

On Tuesday, the state called two witnesses — one from Capitec and the other from FNB — who both painted a picture of how the money was split among the seven accused a day after AKA and Tibz were killed.

The court also heard evidence that accused number one, Mkhwanazi, transferred R33,000 to his wife Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi, on February 11, soon after he received money from Gwabeni.

Capitec forensic investigator Ashley Soomaroo confirmed that Mkhwanazi and the three Ndimandes — Zenzele, Malusi Dave and Siyabonga Gezani — had active accounts with the bank.

Soomaroo presented bank statements for the four accused who bank with Capitec, which confirmed that they each received R133,000, though some received it in tranches, such as R100,000 and R33,000.

The court also heard that this was the highest amount of money the accused had received since opening their bank accounts.

The accused transferred the money into their other accounts shortly after being paid by Gwabeni.

Another witness, Ashley Wilson from FNB, also confirmed the R822,000 payment made to Gwabeni on February 11 2023.

Wilson said Gwabeni then transferred R803,000 into his other account before making transfers to other banks.

Gwabeni used different references when making payments to the accused, such as “taxi loan”, “car repair” or “six-months salary”.

During cross-examination of Soomaroo, the defence cited some discrepancies in the Capitec bank statements, which the witness confirmed.

There were mistakes, such as some accounts being shown as opened on February 11 2023, when in fact they were opened long before.

Another discrepancy noted was Hlengiwe Mkhwanazi being referred to as “Mrs Mkhwanazi”, while at the time she opened the account she was not yet married.

The court also heard that Gwabeni transacted at King Shaka International Airport and at the uMlazi Shell HD garage using a virtual card on February 10 and 11 respectively.

The matter was stood down to Thursday for the defence to cross-examine Wilson.