The State wants to combine the 2022 murder case of taxi boss Sibongiseni Gift Khanyile with the murders of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane. The request was made in the Durban High Court on Monday, where accused Siyanda Eddie Myeza appeared briefly.

Senior prosecutor Advocate Elvis Gcweka told the court that evidence relating to the May 2022 murders of Khanyile and Nhlakanipho Msani had been received last week. That evidence is now central to the State’s push to consolidate the matters into one case.

Why Prosecutors Say the Cases are Linked

Myeza is already the third accused in the murders of Forbes and Motsoane. In the 2022 case, he faces more charges, including theft, conspiracy to commit murder, and two counts of attempted murder.

The State alleges that Myeza, Msani and others not yet identified planned to kill Khanyile, a taxi owner linked to the Chesterville, Richmond, Berea and Ntuzuma Taxi Associations. The suspected motive is linked to conflict in the taxi industry over shared routes.

Khanyile was allegedly followed to a BP filling station on Jan Smuts Highway in Mayville on 6 May 2022, where gunmen opened fire. A shootout followed between the suspects and the men who were with Khanyile. Msani was shot and later found inside a Toyota Etios.

Firearm Evidence Ties Myeza to Both Matters

The State says the strongest link between the cases is ballistic evidence. According to earlier evidence from Warrant Officer Kumarasan Pillay, Myeza allegedly used a stolen Toyota Etios during the 2022 crimes and was later found with a firearm used in AKA’s February 2023 murder outside Wish restaurant on Florida Road in Durban.

Pillay previously stated that Myeza had handed firearms to his co-accused to carry out the plan and later received one of the weapons back. Prosecutors also say spent cartridges recovered from the 2022 crime scene, which carried Myeza’s fingerprints, were linked to the same gun used to kill Motsoane in 2023.

Defence Does Not Oppose the Merger

Myeza’s lawyer, Sibusiso Dlamini, told the court that the defence had no objection to the consolidation of the cases.

Myeza is expected back in court on 19 June with his co-accused Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, Mziwethemba Gwabeni and Lindokuhle Lindo Ndimande. The merger bid could become a major step in tying together two high-profile murder prosecutions.