KwaZulu-Natal's provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, says police have made a breakthrough in the AKA murder investigation by recovering and confirming the firearm that was used to kill the rapper.
Police are also confident they have identified getaway cars used in the crime, while it is believed the suspected killers are already behind bars for other crimes.
The acclaimed rapper Kiernan "AKA" Forbes was gunned down in a suspected hit outside Wish restaurant on Durban’s popular Florida Road in February.
His friend, chef and entrepreneur Tebello 'Tibz' Motsoane, who was his former manager, was also gunned down as the two hugged and embraced on that fateful evening.
CCTV footage that emerged after the shooting showed two gunmen pulling the trigger at close range. The gunmen ran past a satellite police station and into parallel streets on Florida Road.
Briefing the media on Wednesday, Mkhwanazi said the police had already located the firearm and that they had identified the suspects involved in the murder.
He said the police needed to engage with the National Prosecuting Authority before acting further on the matter.
"We have identified a couple of vehicles that were used; some of them were used as getaway vehicles, and some of them were used as spotters. Some of the vehicles may have been used after the fact by people we have identified as suspects.
"We have identified one firearm that has been used and positively identified to have shot and killed Mr Forbes," he said.
Police said the firearm that killed Forbes was in their possession, which suggested that the alleged suspects may already be behind bars.
"We have identified a few individuals that we might start bringing them in after discussing it with the NPA," said Mkhwanazi.
Meanwhile, IOL reported about a fortnight ago that KZN police had already "identified" AKA’s killers, and some of them were reportedly already behind bars.
Mkhwanazi said at the time that police had established a crack team of investigators and were building a solid case before making any premature announcements.
"Do we want to go to court tomorrow with a half-baked case? No."
He said that the list of suspects also continued to grow, and some of them were in jail for other crimes.
Police have also downloaded cellphone data from about 25 cellphones and have scores of video clips, which they are using as part of their case.
In March, relying on information from police sources close to the investigation, the Sunday Tribune reported that the AKA killers had been arrested at a Cape Town shopping centre.
This was later denied by the police, but another IOL report said some of the suspects arrested were linked to taxi killings as well.
IOL