AKA, latest victim of South Africa’s celebrity murder scourge

Africa was shocked Saturday morning when they woke up to the tragic news of the death of Kiernan Forbes, famously known by his stage name AKA.

AKA, one of South Africa’s hottest rap artists, was shot dead outside a restaurant in the southeastern city of Durban, his family said Saturday.

He becomes the latest victim of what is fast becoming an alarming trend in South Africa, where celebrities are targeted by hitmen.

The 35-year-old won multiple South African awards, was nominated several times for a Black Entertainment Television (BET) Award in the United States, and was once nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award.

“It is with extreme sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our beloved son,” his parents, Tony and Lynn Forbes, said in a statement posted on AKA’s social media accounts. “Our son was loved, and he gave love in return.”

He was gunned down on Friday night alongside another man while they were walking towards their car from a restaurant.

“They were allegedly approached by two armed suspects who walked to them from across the street and shot the victims at close range,” police said in a statement.

He was booked to perform at a club Friday night, according to Durban’s mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda.

The motive for the shooting is unknown, and police are investigating.

Beauty Dlulane, who heads a parliamentary committee on arts and culture, condemned AKA’s murder, describing it as a “hit.”

She called on authorities “to protect South Africans from this new scourge of what seems to be contract and revenge killings where performing artists and DJs seem to be targeted.”

Last November, a star of the house music sub-genre Amapiano, Oupa Sefoka -- known as ‘DJ Sumbody’ -- was killed alongside his bodyguard in a drive-by shooting in Johannesburg.

South African gun violence famously claimed the lives of one of Africa’s most beloved international artists.

In 2007, reggae singer Lucky Dube was dropping off his teenage son at a relative’s home when gunmen shot him three times at close range during a botched hijacking.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest murder rates.

Many people have licensed firearms for personal protection, and there are many more illegal guns in circulation.

Last year, the country recorded several mass shootings at taverns.

In the most recent such incident, eight people were shot dead at a birthday party last month.

Celebrities speak out

Aka’s untimely death has led to a lot of discussion online, where his fans and other celebrities have poured their hearts out.

However, despite the emotional messages that continue to be shared, some have tried to provide context to situations that they believe put celebrities in potential danger. Sharing her two cents on the matter, Malawian radio personality Priscilla Kayira has urged celebrities in Malawi and across the world to stop sharing their locations.

The Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) presenter tweeted today, following the killing of AKA in a drive-by shooting in Durban last night.

“Avoid sharing your locations. Post once you have left the place. The enemy is always watching you,” tweeted Priscilla Kayira.

However, she was blasted by several people for what others considered an insensitive tweet.

“This doesn’t apply to just the incident that has occurred. There are a lot of things that can happen to a person, not only death. They’re rapist out here, stalkers, and thieves [sic]. Etc but go ahead with the agenda you want to go with [sic]”, she clarified her tweet.

In response, some people disagreed with Priscilla. This group argues that people with a motive, such as hitmen, would still locate you even if you did not pin your location on your social media accounts.

In Tanzania, artists, some of whom had collaborated with the late rapper, shared their heartfelt condolences.

During his music career, AKA worked with Diamond Platnumz on “Make Me Sing” and was featured in Joh Makini’s “Don’t Bother.”

AKA’s compatriots also led in paying tributes. Singer Focalistic stopped his show in the UK to take a moment of silence as a tribute to AKA, whom he referred to as an idol and an inspiration to many other rappers and aspiring artists out there.

Rapper Costatitch, who shares multiple collaborations with AKA, such as Super Soft and Work, shared a broken pink heart emoji on his Instagram account, attaching various videos of the two of them at work doing videos and photoshoots.

International artists such as Swizz Beatz and DC Young Fly also joined in to pay their respects to the fallen rapper.