Culture

South African police links prominent businessman to AKA’s murder

Published

8 months ago

March 29, 2024

South African Police have linked prominent businessman, Sydney Mfundo Gcaba, to the murder of rapper, Kiernan Forbes, also known as AKA, who was gunned down together with his close friend, Tibz Motsoane, outside a Durban restaurant in February last year.

According to a statement by the police, Mfundo who is a nephew to former President Jacob Zuma, allegedly paid more than R800,000 into the account of one of the suspects who were arrested last month for the double murder.

Mfundo Gcaba is a member of the wealthy Gcaba family which controls numerous other companies in addition to an enormous taxi empire in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province.

The police said its investigations have revealed that the money was paid into the account of the accused on 11 February, a day after the murder of AKA and Tibz, alleging that the money was paid as proceeds for the murder of Forbes.

In an affidavit deposed by lead investigating officer, Kumaran Pillay, the police alleges that “one of the Gcaba brothers paid a sum of more than R800,000 into one of the bank accounts of the accused.”

“Durban businessman and taxi business funder, Mziwethemba Gwabeni, who’s also one of the accused in the matter, allegedly received the money into his business bank account the day after the murder on 11 February,” the affidavit said.

“The money was paid via the business bank account of Bright Circle Pty Ltd, a company Gcaba is the sole director of. Gwabeni proceeded to pay his co-accused an amount of R133,000 each thereafter.”

State prosecutor, Advocate Elvis Gcweka, who also addressed a press conference on the outcome of investigations thus far, said that cellphone records gathered showed that prior to the money being paid, Gwabeni and Gcaba spoke.

“Shortly after this call, an amount of R803,455 is transferred into the bank account of the applicant.

“The reference for the payment was made under “consults” but investigations so far have been unable to establish a business relationship between them.

“The money was then allegedly divided equally among the seven accused,” the prosecutor said.

Related Topics:AKA Featured Murder Rapper Sydney Mfundo

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Culture

Kenyan court convicts housemate of slain LGBTQ activist of murder

Published

7 hours ago

December 4, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A Kenyan court has found the housemate of slain LGBTQ activist, Edwin Kiptoo, also known as Chiloba, who was killed in 2023, guilty of high-profile murder.

Eldoret High Court, which gave the ruling on Wednesday, found Jacktone Odhiambo, a freelance photographer, guilty of the murder of Chiloba, nearly a year after the shocking murder, which sparked global condemnation in the LGBTQ community in the conservative East African nation.

The court found Odhiambo guilty of intentionally causing Chiloba’s death, meeting all the requisite elements of murder under Section 203 of the Penal Code.

The body of Chiloba was found in a metal box in the western city of Eldoret in early January 2023 and shortly after, Odhiambo was arrested and charged with the crime while the police believed he had been in a relationship with Chiloba, and was accused of carrying out the murder between the night of December 31 and January 3, 2023.b

The prosecution led by Mark Mugun, presented evidence from 23 witnesses, including DNA profiles that linked the suspect to the crime.

Autopsy results revealed Chiloba died from asphyxiation, with investigators uncovering his body stuffed in a metal trunk on January 4, 2023, along a roadside in Eldoret.

Five people were arrested in connection with the murder of Chiloba including Odhiambo, who reportedly was a close friend and Chiloba’s partner.

The prosecution relied on key evidence which included DNA extracted from Chiloba’s body and personal items, showing a mixture of his blood and the suspect’s own, while testimony from the government chemist further solidified the link, detailing the genetic analysis of materials recovered at the crime scene.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution confirmed the ruling in a posting on X.

“My client has been found guilty of murder,” Sammy Mathai, Odhiambo’s lawyer, told reporters.
“We are going back to court on Dec. 16 for sentencing.”

Culture

France returns 3,500 ancient artefacts to Ethiopia

Published

2 days ago

December 2, 2024

Isaac Dachen

France has begun the repatriation of over 3,500 archaeological artefacts to Ethiopia after they were taken from the county in the 1980s to Paris for study.

French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, who handed over two prehistoric stone axes, called “bifaces”, and a stone cutter to Ethiopia’s Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa, during a visit to the national museum in Addis Ababa, noted that the gesture stemmed from the two countries longstanding bilateral agreement on cooperating in the fields of archaeology and palaeontology.

The artifacts which are stored at the French Embassy in Addis Ababa, will be delivered to the Ethiopian Heritage Directorate on Tuesday, Kassa said.

“This is a handover, not a restitution, in that these objects have never been part of French public collections,” Laurent Serrano, Culture Adviser at the French Embassy, said during the handover ceremony.

“These artifacts, which date back between 1 and 2 million years, were found during excavations carried out over several decades at a site near the Ethiopian capital,” he added.

The tools are “samples of nearly 3,500 artefacts from the excavations that were carried out on the Melka Kunture site”, a cluster of prehistoric sites south of the capital that were excavated under the direction of a late French researcher, Barrot said.