The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)  says the serving of indictment to the five men charged with the murder of rapper Keenan ‘AKA’ Forbes and Tebello Motsoane, shows that the matter is progressing.

The accused made a brief appearance at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday, where the matter was transferred to the High Court for trial.

They are facing 11 counts, including conspiracy to commit murder, murder, attempted and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

“The state did serve an indictment on the five accused today. The matter was reminded to the 8th of May 2025 for the accused to make their first appearance in the Durban High Court. The serving of the indictments to the accused is indeed a good sign for the case because the magistrate mentioned in court that the matter is now trial-ready. It shows progression in the case and that they will appear in the High Court. The various applications thereafter will follow in terms of a pre-trial conference and then the trial,” says NPA Regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.

Meanwhile, the legal representative of two other suspects linked to the murders, brothers Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande, was also in court.

They are challenging an order for them to be extradited from eSwatini to South Africa to face murder charges.

“ I’m here watching brief, a brief mainly means that I’m here to observe this case here in the Republic of South Africa. One should remember that these cases are intertwined in nature as they have been served with the papers. So, I’m just here as a watching brief so that we will know how we can proceed in the kingdom of eSwatini in certain aspects of the case,” says their attorney, Sivesenkhosi Ngwenya.

VIDEO | Ngwenya says the matter of the Ndimande brothers is not about them not wanting to be in South Africa but rather about whether the proper channels were followed in extraditing them: