‘I spoke to him 10 min before’: Nadia Nakai opens up about the night AKA was gunned down

In a candid interview on the L-Tido Podcast, Nadia Nakai opened up about the moment she received the news about AKA's passing.


Television presenter and rapper Nadia Nakai shared the heartbreaking details of her boyfriend Kiernan Forbes’ passing during a recent interview on the L-Tido Podcast.

Forbes, known as AKA, was tragically shot and killed outside a restaurant in Durban, in February 2023.

A few months after his passing, Nadia took to her Instagram page to express the difficulties she faced in accepting his death.

Nadia said she is gradually finding the strength to move forward and resume her career, as she starts to rebuild her life.

Nadia-Nakai. Picture: Instagram@NadiaNakai
Nadia-Nakai. Picture: Instagram @NadiaNakai

Nadia Nakai on AKA’s passing

In a recent interview on the L-Tido Podcast, Nadia Nakai talked about the night she received the devastating news about his passing.

She shared the details of what happened and how she found out about his untimely death.

“I was at Ayanda’s birthday where she had asked me to perform… I spoke to AKA 10 minutes before he passed away.

“He called me in the greatest spirit… ‘Baby what are you wearing…’ And he’s like ‘the boys and I are about to leave, [we are going to the club]’.

“Then like 10 minutes later, Azola comes to me, pulls me aside and she says ‘babes, Kiernan got shot’,” explained Nadia.

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Heading to Durban after the shooting

Nadia said she didn’t fully grasp the severity of the situation until she was informed that he had been killed.

“It did not register to me that he was shot fatally at all until I got the news that it was fatal. I thought he was probably shot in the shoulder or the leg, and I was like ‘shot, what do you mean shot?’ It did not register.”

Nadia also described how she immediately left everything behind and rushed to Durban, where the shooting occurred.

“Everybody started coming to the house, we got into the car and drove straight to Durban immediately that evening which was also pointless to because there was nothing I could do, but I was like I have to get there.

“When we got there in a few hours, I saw the boys and they were all distraught. Then I went to the airport and flew back to Joburg and then Tony and Steph arrived,” recalled Nadia.

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Kiernan Jarryd Forbes (AKA) Nadia Nakai podcast

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