The family of late South African rapper came together on Sunday to celebrate his heavenly birthday almost a year after he was shot dead.
AKA was gunned down outside a restaurant in Durban, South Africa.
Nadia Nakai, who was AKA's girlfriend described his birthday as a painful day.
"Happy Heavenly Birthday @akaworldwide we all miss you so much! ♾️Got 36 balloons to send to you, and in true Kairo fashion they had to be biodegradable to not harm the environment…Today is painful. 💔♾️."
DJ Zinhle, who is the mother of AKA's daughter also said that their daughter had had a tough week leading to the birthday.
"As a mother, I want her to heal & celebrate her dad but it’s too soon.The past year has been a roller coaster, my God!!! Everyday I hold my breath hoping she’s okay… I feel helpless cause I can’t help my child deal with the pain.@murdahbongz thank you for holding us close & protecting us."
"My prayer is that we never fail Kairo, that we always allow love & kindness to flow into her life so she never feels lost without Kiernan. I know that will take time but I trust God, it might not be now but God knows you’ve put pride aside for your family & I am grateful for you.Imagine if I was dealing with a child who lost her dad alone but instead we have each other, my family the Jiyanes, the Mohosanas, the Forbes, @nadianakai & all my friends, thank you for sharing the load with @murdahbongz & I."
"Family is love. Family is us! Happy Heavenly Birthday Kiernan.Today is gonna be a tough day. Keep @lynnforbesza & @tonydforbes in your prayers!Today feels as heavy as the day we lost him, God give us strength. 🙏🏾."
In a past interview, Nadia Nakai remembered the day her boyfriend rapper AKA was shot dead. When she received the news, she was performing at an event;
"I spoke to him ten minutes before he passed away, he called me in the greatest of spirits and he told me the boys and him were going to the hotel to change and would go to the club."
Ten minutes later she was told by a friend about the shooting of her boyfriend.
"It (my mind) didn't register it was fatal. What do you mean shot? I literally ran out of that venue. We got in the car and ran to Durban."
Before that, AKA had wanted to go to church 'We tried to get to all roads to get to the church but they were closed, we stopped at a casino, we prayed, read the scripture. He believed in God for a long time but I feel like closer to the end, he was so close to God and I have no doubt where he is."
Nakai said although she had gone through a hard time, she received support from family and fans "Everyone rallied behind me. I also had to bump up my security. I'm still adjusting."
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