In first-ever interview, Anele Tembe’s dad hints at ‘foul play’ 

Anele Tembe’s father, Moses Tembe has once again rubbished allegations his daughter threw herself off a high-rise hotel in a suicide bid following a heated argument with her fiance AKA, real name Kiernan Forbes.

The Durban businessman spoke for the first time about his daughter’s death on 11 April 2021 in an interview with SABC News.

The Tembe family has previously hinted at “foul play” following the tragedy. They have also since challenged the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) decision not to prosecute anyone – namely Forbes – following Anele’s death.

AKA was shot and killed in an alleged hit in Durban two years later on 10 February 2023.

While her death is being investigated via an inquest, seven men have been charged for the murder of the rapper.

ANELE TEMBE’S DAD MOSES SPEAKS ON DAUGHTER’S DEATH

On the third anniversary of Anele Tembe’s death this week, Moses Tembe reflected on his grief and an inquest into his aughter’s death.

Speaking to SABC’s Chriselda Lewis, the businessman denied allegations that Anele was suicidal or had jumped to her death off the 10th floor of the Pepperclub hotel balcony in Cape Town.

At the time, Anele had accompanied the rapper to a weekend gig in the city. By AKA’s own admission after her death, the couple had had a heated argument moments before she fell.

In a video that went viral on social media, Anele’s half-naked body was seen lying on the street while paramedics unsuccessfully tried to save her life.

Moses said: “To see your daughter lying there, covered in foil. It was a traumatic experience.

“We did not have any other details than that she had fallen…Anele loved her life. She respected herself. I knew her plans, how much she was looking forward to the next chapter.

“She would not strip naked and throw herself.”

He added: “One got a sense that there could be some foul play.”

WHY DID THE NPA NOT PROSECUTE ANYONE?

Moses added that the Tembe family had hoped that AKA, the last person to see and speak to Anele Tembe, would be “in the box as a witness or suspect.” He added that they had hoped the NPA’s prosecution would bring them closure.

However, just days after AKA’s murder last year, the NPA issued a statement justifying their decision not to prosecute anyone.

According to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Western Cape Nicolette Bell, the NPA decided not to pursue prosecution after making an “informed decision” based on an “extensive investigation performed by South African Police Service, under the guidance of the NPA,” which included “several expert opinions and forensic reports.”

Instead, the DDP referred the matter for an inquest to be held. 

The inquest has since been delayed after the Tembe family made representations challenging the NPA’s decision.

According to Western Cape police spokesperson Captain Frederick Van Wyk, the matter is scheduled for a formal inquest at the Cape Town Magistrates’ court from 15 April 2024.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR SUICIDE?

Speaking at her funeral in 2021, Moses Tembe disputed social media reports that Anele had committed suicide.

He said during his speech: “I can’t allow an unfortunate narrative to go unchallenged. A narrative that irks me no end as a father, which maliciously pervades some circles, is that Anele, my daughter, was chronically suicidal or had suicidal tendencies,”

“As Anele’s father, I hereby state categorically that Anele was neither suicidal nor did she commit suicide. Ladies and gentlemen, we need to understand the forces that put us in a situation where we find ourselves.

Instead, Moses hinted at substance abuse.

He continued: “Of course, we must, as a matter of extreme priority, deal with the scourge that bedevils our youth: alcohol and drugs.”

Speaking in an interview with The Barleader TV a month after Anele’s death, AKA  claimed that his partner had reportedly struggled with depression and had attempted suicide on multiple occasions.

He said of her past alleged attempts: “In my past time with Anele, it was not the first time that she had attempted to do that (harm herself) or threatened to do that. She had done that here in this home and over the phone…

“She had also threatened to drive her car into the wall and also had to be talked down off the ledge at the Hilton in Durban.”