Anele Tembe inquest reopens five years after tragic fall, is AKA responsible?
· Citizen
Five years after the tragic death of 22‑year‑old Anele “Anna” Tembe, a formal inquest is set to reopen painful questions about the circumstances of her fatal fall from a Cape Town hotel balcony.
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The proceedings begin on Monday, 13 July 2026, in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, where six witnesses are expected to testify.
The inquest will examine the evidence surrounding Tembe’s death and determine whether anyone can be held responsible.
Death
Tembe fell from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel on 11 April 2021, while in the city with her fiancé, rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes. Hours before her death, Forbes was scheduled to perform at the Ayepyep Lifestyle Lounge.
Tembe’s family has consistently contested the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) earlier finding that she took her own life.
Following AKA’s assassination in Durban in 2024, the NPA referred the matter to an inquest, which the Tembe family hopes will finally reveal the truth.
Text messages
New text messages have surfaced ahead of the inquest. One exchange is between AKA and a Tembe family lawyer on the day of an earlier incident at the Hilton Hotel, where Anele allegedly threatened to jump from a building.
Another chat between Anele and Forbes reportedly includes messages in which she spoke about attempting to take her own life, warning that if there was a next time, she would “do it for good.”
The Tembe family said these messages raise new questions and wants the NPA to investigate alleged discrepancies between the lawyer’s affidavit and the texts.
Disputed responsibility
In October last year, Tony Forbes, AKA’s father, publicly insisted his son was not a murderer and did not kill Tembe.
His comments followed former police minister Bheki Cele’s statement to Parliament that investigators had not ruled out murder.
Cele criticised the NPA for failing to enrol the case, saying: “It’s an obvious case. You should ask the prosecutor who did not enrol it in the Western Cape.
“I went to the president, personally. I said: ‘Mr President, your minister of police is going to do something funny. He’s going to support the private prosecution. And the prosecutor refused to give a certificate. So, you can’t prosecute, you can’t give a certificate.
“So, you’re stuck in the middle. But now I know that in that inquest, the magistrate that is there now is asking the question, why this thing was not enrolled?” Cele said.
AKA assassination
On 10 February 2024, Forbes and his close friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane were shot dead outside Wish Restaurant in Durban. CCTV footage of the hit was widely circulated, showing the pair gunned down in what police described as a targeted assassination.
The ambiguity surrounding Tembe’s death has fuelled speculation that Forbes’s murder was linked to unresolved questions about her fall, with rumours suggesting retribution.
Family’s hope
For the Tembe family, the inquest represents a long‑awaited opportunity to confront unanswered questions.
They believe the new evidence, including text messages and witness testimony, could shed light on whether Tembe’s death was suicide, an accident, or foul play.
The inquest is expected to run over several days, with the magistrate tasked with weighing conflicting accounts and evidence.