Gauteng govt requests provincial official funeral for AKA
The Office of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa to ask for permission to honour slain musician Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes with a provincial official funeral.
An official provincial funeral normally is accorded to MECs or the speaker of the legislature, but the premier can apply to the president if they feel a resident deserves such recognition.
Lesufi's spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga says Forbes deserves the honour due to his contribution to music in the province.
"When you request a provincial state funeral, it is for someone who has contributed meaningfully to the lives and the body of work within Gauteng.
“So in recognition of that, we then give that person an honour to say we recognise you and to have his coffin wrapped up by the South African flag, which that flag gets given to the family and we have a brass band and a representative of the state that can attest the life of that other person. Basically that's what a state funeral entails.
“In any sense, it is about the honour of the person and the recognition of their work while they were alive," says Mhaga.
Forbes was shot and killed alongside his friend Tebello’ Tibz’ Motsoane in Durban on Friday night.
The rapper's family announced that a public memorial service in his honour will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre on Friday.
His funeral is set to be a private ceremony held on Saturday.
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