Sekyiwa Shakur, the younger sister of late American rapper Tupac Shakur, broke down in tears while recounting the devastating impact of her brother’s murder on their family during a court hearing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Her emotional testimony came on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, as Duane “Keffe D” Davis was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for his role in orchestrating Tupac’s fatal shooting in 1996.
According to reports by ABC News, CBS News and the Associated Press, Sekyiwa, popularly known as Set, addressed the court during the sentencing hearing, describing how the loss of her brother affected her family emotionally and psychologically for decades.
“The loss of Tupac, for a long time, crippled my entire family emotionally and mentally,” she told the court.
Through tears, Sekyiwa disclosed that she had been hospitalised multiple times while struggling with depression, suicidal thoughts and trauma associated with her brother’s death.
She also explained that the tragedy affected her children, who grew up surrounded by her grief and experienced emotional difficulties following the loss.
Her testimony offered a deeply personal account of the consequences of Tupac’s murder beyond the loss felt by his millions of fans worldwide.
Sekyiwa described her brother as a generous and compassionate person who supported numerous families and cared deeply about the people around him. She maintained that his death robbed their family of someone whose presence had been central to their lives.
She also urged the court to impose the maximum possible punishment on Davis, saying he deserved to spend time reflecting on the consequences of taking a life.
Tupac, widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in hip-hop history, was shot in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996. He was riding in a BMW driven by Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight when a white Cadillac pulled alongside their vehicle and gunfire erupted.
The rapper, who was 25 at the time, died six days later from his injuries. The killing remained unsolved for decades before investigators arrested Davis in 2023.
Prosecutors argued that the shooting was motivated by retaliation following an earlier confrontation involving Tupac’s associates and Davis’ nephew, Orlando Anderson, at the MGM Grand hotel after a Mike Tyson boxing match.
Davis, a former gang member, was convicted of first-degree murder in August 2026. Prosecutors relied heavily on statements he had made publicly and in a memoir about his involvement in the events surrounding the killing.
At the sentencing hearing, the judge imposed consecutive prison terms of 20 years to life for murder and an additional 20 years to life for the deadly-weapon enhancement, resulting in a total sentence of 40 years to life.
Tupac’s brother, Mopreme Shakur, also addressed the court, highlighting the lasting pain the family had endured and the future the rapper never got to experience, including the opportunity to have children and watch his nieces and nephews grow up.
Davis maintained his intention to appeal the conviction, leaving the possibility of further legal proceedings ahead.
Nearly three decades after Tupac’s death, Sekyiwa’s testimony underscored the lasting grief experienced by those closest to him, reminding the court that the consequences of the rapper’s murder extended far beyond the music industry.
