The Gauteng government has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting permission to use state funds to assist in the funeral arrangements of slain rapper, Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi visited the Forbes family on Tuesday and confirmed he had written to Ramaphosa in the hope that funds from provincial coffers would assist the family in ensuring that the award-winning entertainer gets a fitting farewell.
He said the Gauteng government is committed to providing assistance where necessary to the family.
Lesufi's spokesperson, Vuyo Mhaga, explained that the Premier has written to the Presidency, requesting permission.
He said if the president declared an official provincial funeral, it would allow the South African flag to be flown at half-mast and that there would be a State representative present at the funeral.
It would also allow government to spend on some aspects of the events leading to the burial.
AKA’s father, Tony Forbes, said a public memorial service would be held on Friday at the Sandton Convention Centre at 3pm.
The memorial would also be live-streamed while a private funeral would be held on Saturday.
AKA was killed in Durban on Friday night, alongside his former manager and longtime friend, Tebello Tibz Motsoane outside Durban’s Wish restaurant.
So far, police have not made any arrests in the investigation.
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, speaking on Newzroom Afrika, said detectives were in the process of tracing the movements of the hitmen backwards in an effort to identify the killers.
He believed AKA was the main target of the hit and Motsoane was struck during cross fire.
Mkhwanazi said detectives were going through a massive amount of data to piece together the events leading up to the shooting and after the shooting.
IOL