Brigadier Vela Cele has been appointed to head up the investigation into the murder of SA musician Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes.
The announcement was made by Police Minister Bheki Cele following the release of the Quarter 3 Crime Statistics on Friday.
At the 7th SAPS National Excellence Awards, Brigadier Cele was honoured for the role he played in tracking down Luyanda Botha in 10 days following the murder 19-year-old UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana.
It took just under three months for the National Prosecuting Authority to finalise the murder and rape trial and the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Rodney de Kock, committed his office to solving such cases speedily. Botha was sentenced for Mrwetyana's rape and murder.
Meanwhile, police have revealed that cellphones have been seized and statements taken from people in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal as part of ongoing investigations.
KZN SAPS Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said police teams were downloading data from the cellphones. He added that police had collected a number of videos from different CCTV cameras “that we could find that will assist us”, he said.
Mkhwanazi said police had also received ballistic reports and teams were reviewing all videos and analysing footage.
“We are still putting our evidence together so we have a solid case going forward,” he said.
AKA was killed alongside his former manager and long-time friend, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, outside Florida Road’s Wish restaurant in Durban.
His funeral takes place on Saturday.
IOL