The regional administration's request for a state funeral for famous South African musician AKA who was killed last week has been rejected by the president, local media reports.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi had written to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting permission to give slain rapper Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA, a national funeral On Thursday, Mr Lesufi said his request was rejected.
He said he did not ask for government funds for the funeral, but for the coffin to be covered with the national flag and the flag to be flown at half-mast in honor of the rapper.
"We felt that a person of his international status, a person of national status, there must be some kind of respect, and we want to clarify that it is not a financial contribution," he was quoted as saying. The rapper will be buried on Saturday.
Fans and South Africans at large will on Friday get a chance to pay their last respect to Award-winning rapper Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA.
He was killed outside a Durban eatery on Florida Road with his long-time friend, Tebello Tibz Motsoane on February 10, Friday night.
On Friday, a funeral service will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre at 3 PM.
However, the online tickets for AKA's memorial service were sold out in a matter of hours, following confirmation on Tuesday from his family that a memorial service will be held on Friday.
Only a limited number of tickets were made available on WebTickets.
