A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Tauranga man David Kuka - almost four years after his death. 

Adrian Rewiri, 36, was arrested and charged with Kuka's murder on Thursday. 

Rewiri is the second person to be charged with the murder of Kuka. The other man, whose name is suppressed, appeared in Tauranga District Court last month 

Rewiri appeared in the Tauranga District Court via audio-visual link on Friday morning, and was remanded in custody by Judge Christopher Harding until February 2, where he will appear alongside his co-accused. 

An application for interim name suppression made by Rewiri's lawyer Charles Bean was declined. 

Kuka, a 52-year-old father of four, was shot close to midnight on the evening of February 11, 2018 at a Gate Pa property. 

Kuku was best known around Tauranga as a busker, but also enjoyed the art of carving, assisting his cousin to complete a carving for the Tauranga Boys' College wharenui.