It all happened so quick in the blink of an eye.

That is what the boss of the bodyguard who was assigned to guard AKA said.

Anwar “Dogg” Khan, who took care of Forbes’s security in Durban for the past eight years, said the bodyguard — who does not want to be named or speak to the media directly — is still traumatised by the shooting.

 

 

 

He escaped injury despite three shots being fired directly at him from less than 5m away.

Khan, owner of the Pentagon Group bodyguard service, said he was like “a big brother” to Forbes, who was better known by his stage name AKA.

He had assigned one of his staff members to protect Forbes during his visit to Durban last weekend, as he had already been booked to provide security to US rapper Abbas “Bas” Hamad, who was in South Africa at the time.

“So I was not there with AKA in Durban for the first time in eight years,” said Khan, who has provided VIP security for the likes of Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Snoop Dogg, Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar.

“The protector did not have a fighting chance because the one guy was shooting at him while the other guy was shooting at AKA, and you still had people running like crazy,” Khan said.

“He was not injured but three shots were fired directly at him at less than 5m and the shooter missed. If he hadn’t dived into the vehicle for cover, that [shooter] would have got him.”

Forbes and his friend, celebrity chef and entrepreneur Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, were shot dead just after 10pm last Friday on the pavement outside Wish restaurant in Florida Road, in what is believed to have been a professional hit.

The two gunmen, who opened fire in full view of CCTV cameras, fled on foot. Khan said he was devastated that he had not been with AKA that night.