Police have come under fire from an advocate representing the four men linked to the murder of rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes for how they’ve handled the matter of their arrest.
Also read: Police investigates “person of interest” in murder of Kiernan “AKA” Forbes
The suspects have been in custody since the weekend and were only able to see their lawyer for the first time on Wednesday.
In an interview with IOL, Advocate Annelene van den Heever said that her clients’ rights had been violated after they failed to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
‘This is a violation of their rights. It exceeded the maximum 48 hours,’ she said, adding that she would be approaching the high court if the suspects did not appear today.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development website states that normally after arrest, the accused must be brought before a court within 48 hours, and he or she may then apply to be released on a warning or bail if the case is not finalised on that day.
The advocate, whose previous clients include ex-Eskom executive Anoj Singh, Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir and self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri, confirmed the four suspects and added that she would approach the High Court if necessary.
‘When an attorney, on our instruction, went to the Cape Town police station, they were told the men were not there – this was a lie.’
‘They were transported sometime on Tuesday and arrived in Durban at 5am (Wednesday). If you work out the 48 hours, it was basically over yesterday (Tuesday) already,’ she explained, saying that she had spent time trying to get police to bring the men to court but they refused.
She said the four had not been charged as of yet.
‘Police have leaked information about them being arrested for AKA’s murder, but they are saying nothing to us. My clients don’t know what is going on,’ she said.
The incident occurred on the evening of Friday, 10 February, when AKA and Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane were shot dead in Durban.
They were gunned down after AKA had been to Wish restaurant for food and drinks ahead of a scheduled birthday celebration performance at Yugo, a Durban nightclub.
However, Van Heever confirmed that four men had been arrested.
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Picture: AKA / Instagram