The late Anele Thembe and Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes. Picture: Instagram.
Three years ago, Anele Tembe’s death rocked the nation.
At just 22-years-old, the fiancée of the late rapper, Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, fell to her death in April 2021 from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town.
Question of whether she jumped or was pushed are still circulating, with multiple delays in court proceedings on the matter also leaving her family without closure.
Speaking about the case for the first time, Moses Tembe (Anele’s father) sat down with SABC’s multi-award winning TV journalist Chriselda Zozi Lewis for a tell-all interview.
“We still feeling so much pain, we still feeling so much anguish over the passing of our daughter, Anele... Our hearts remain shattered into pieces,” he said.
The exclusive interview took place at a library in Anele’s former school, which has been named in her honour.
Moses said: “Anele was a lively child... She was always positively disposed, she loved reading, she loved sport, she knew what she wanted in life.
“So as a family, when we reflect on what we could do to keep her legacy and spirit alive, we could not find a project more appropriate then doing this library.”
Reflecting on that faithful day when he heard about his daughter’s death, Moses said: “We were preparing to go to church when my family came to deliver the very sad news... I was gutted. That feeling that someone is taking the guts out of your stomach.
“What made it worst was that I was in Durban and could not be there.”
He shared that seeing his daughter covered in foil on TV was a traumatic experience. At the time, the family were told that she fell and that she was alive for 20 minutes before she died.
“I knew her plans. She was looking forward to the next chapter of her life. I also knew the way she loved herself. She would not strip naked and throw herself down, so at the time one got a sense that there could be foul play.”
Moses added that the police have kept them informed on developments on the case.
“At the time, there was an expectation that there will be prosecution. We were not judging at the time. We looked forward to that prosecution which would have led to closure.
“The police never told us who was going to be prosecuted. The police advised us that they had a strong case.”
Moses added that it was critical for the late rapper to be questioned in court, either as a witness or as an accused.
“For our closure, the last person who was with our daughter be present.”
He said the Tembe family had accepted AKA as Anele’s fiancée and as a son.
“I like Kiernan. He never put his foot wrong in front of me... I object to anyone saying Kiernan killed out daughter, I’m saying we need to lead with evidence and the evidence will tell us exactly what happened.”
Regarding him being accused by people on social media of being behind the killing of award-winning rapper, Moses said that it’s unfortunate and that the police have not questioned him.
Watch the full interview below: