By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
The defence wants businessman Sydney Mfundo Gcaba to be questioned on the R800 000 he paid into the accused account, which the state believed was used to pay for the murder of rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes.
Advocate Paul Jorgensen, representing accused number four, Mziwethemba Gwabeni, told the court that Gcaba should be in the dock, as he was the one who transferred the funds.
The court previously heard that Gwabeni received an amount of R800 000 from Gcaba and shared the cash with his co-accused on the day the rapper was killed.
It has been suggested that Gwabeni was the paymaster, who ensured that everyone who was involved in the assassination received their share.
Gwabeni and four other accused appeared in court on Monday for a continuation of their bail application.
Forbes and Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane were shot and killed outside a restaurant on Florida Road in Durban in February last year.
“The immense problem that the state has in this matter is the status of Mfundo Gcaba and the failure on the part of the state to arrest him,” Advocate Jorgensen.
“The state has alleged that I am the mastermind behind the killing of Kiernan Forbes and Tebello Motsoane and that an amount of R800 000, which was transferred to my account, was a payment for the so-called hit.”
“The state has alleged the transferring of the funds was payment for the shooting. In this regard, paragraph 71 of Pillay’s affidavit refers, ‘According to company records, Mfundo Gcaba is the sole director of this company. When the money was transferred, a reference was used as a consult’. Thus, we are of the view that this was done to disguise the nature of the funds, as the same is viewed to be payment for the shooting.
“If the state honestly believes this and if it had any evidence not conjecture, then I would have expected that Mfundo Gcaba would have been arrested and would have been a co-accused. The fact that he is not a co-accused and the state has not taken this court into his confidence and disclosed why they have chosen not to arrest him.
“As I have stated in my founding affidavit, I’m involved in the coal-mining industry and consult with various parties. The reference accompanying the deposit of R800 000 into my account, namely consult, is a collaboration of this fact, “added Advocate Jorgensen.
Meanwhile, the Gcaba family has since distanced themselves from the allegations, adding that they acknowledged the gravity of the situation at hand and widespread interest it has garnered.
“Mfundo is an adult and is a successful businessman involved in various sectors including coal mining and the taxi industry. It is important to note that financial transactions between him and Gwabeni were purely for business purposes,” the family said.
The case against five of the seven accused has been postponed to next month, 19 of May 2024.
Two of the other accused in the case are set to appear in the Eswatini Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday as they wait to be extradited.