The firearm used to kill one of South Africa's leading rappers, popularly known as AKA, has been found, police have confirmed.

Kiernan Forbes was fatally shot in February along with his close friend, the chef and entrepreneur Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane, outside a restaurant in the coastal city of Durban.

Reports that the murder weapon had been found started circulating in May but police dismissed them as malicious and unsubstantiated.

Kwa-Zulu Natal’s police chief refused to give further information about where and when the gun had been discovered, saying that would jeopardise their investigations that were at a "sensitive stage".

No-one has yet been charged with the two murders that were captured on CCTV and caused national outrage.