The much-awaited inquest into the death of slain rapper AKA’s fiancée, Anele Tembe, was postponed on Tuesday due to delays caused by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the artist’s family and legal team, depriving the Tembe family of its right to swiftly get closure and establish what actually happened on the night she tragically passed away.
According to sources who did not want to be named for fear of victimisation, AKA’s lawyer, Rudolph Baloyi, was instructed to liaise with the family of the late artist and submit details of the new executor of his estate to the court before the inquest could start.
This was after RMB Bank withdrew in October last year as the executors of the hip-hop juggernaut’s estate, without furnishing reasons.
“Immediately after that, the magistrate who is presiding over the inquest instructed the Forbes family and/or Baloyi to furnish the court with the details of the new executor within a few weeks, but they failed to do so,” said the source.
The deep throat said their failure contributed to the postponement of the inquest, which was held online, because the court couldn’t give notice to the executor to appear in court to give testimony.
The mole said Baloyi and Forbes’ family only submitted the details of the new executor on Friday, April 4, after kicking the can down the road for several months.
The second factor that contributed to the postponement of the inquest, said the tipster, was the NPA’s failure to submit “properly” commissioned affidavits or witness statements on time as so directed by the magistrate.
The failure by the NPA to submit these statements left Tembe’s family seething with anger.
The source said Tembe’s family and their legal team, led by Bongani Khoza, were ordered by the court to submit a hard drive of evidence to the state, and they obliged.
“During the proceedings, the NPA was asked why it also did not submit video footage and an audio clip to Tembe’s legal team, which would be used as evidence in the inquest. In response, the NPA embarrassingly said the legal team should go and get it from the detective who is investigating the matter,” said the source.
The parties, said the source, postponed the matter and agreed to meet again in the next few weeks to check if all the required materials had been submitted before they could hold a “pre-trial conference of some sort”.
Baloyi, instead of replying to our questions, took to social media and accused us of lying. His gullible battalion of fans on social media encouraged him to assault yours truly.
Khoza confirmed that the Tembe family was aggrieved by the postponement of the matter.
“The delay is regrettable. It cannot be that between the period of October 16, 2023, and April 20, 2024, that the officials, who led the prosecutor led investigation together with the SAPS, who are today responsible for driving the inquest process, have battled to address what we believe are minor issues. Our clients are frustrated by the conduct of the officials entrusted with the matter,” he said.
Khoza added: “It appears that there is no desire to delve into the circumstances that resulted in the untimely death of Anele. The failure to prepare the matter and have it ready for the inquest court by the entrusted officials is disturbing, and highly unprofessional on their part,” said Khoza.
Khoza said they were worried by the delay tactics.
“The NPA in the Western Cape had for a protracted period of time refused to even release a copy of the docket to our clients. Same was released only after we vigorously challenged that office. The matter stems from the year 2021, to date not much has transpired,” he said.
The showdown between the two families started after Tembe, fondly known as Nelly, died after she “jumped” from the balcony of the Pepper Hotel in Cape Town three years ago, after a violent altercation with the award-winning rapper in their hotel room.
The musician, who was assassinated outside the Wish restaurant on Florida Road in Durban, told the police that Tembe, the daughter of respected KwaZulu-Natal businessman, Moses Tembe, committed suicide when she jumped from the balcony of the hotel room they shared after their alcohol-fuelled tiff at the upmarket hotel. However, her family believes AKA pushed her off the balcony.
Sunday World also understands the NPA’s decision to conduct the inquest came after Tembe’s family wrote a scathing letter to the Western Cape director of public prosecutions, Nicolette Bell, after she decided not to institute any criminal prosecution.
In the letter, the family challenged Bell’s decision, claiming the crucial information indicating that the rapper had pushed or carried Tembe over the
balcony was ignored.
In the letter, the family requested access to the docket which led to the NPA’s decision. The family also stated that the evidence that was ignored included a statement by a witness, Rob Stefanutto, who had stated he had heard an argument between a man and a woman in the rapper’s hotel room.
The family also alleged there was blood in the hotel room following Tembe’s passing, and that AKA had marks on his back indicating he was scratched by her when he carried his fiancée to the balcony.
“He did not attend to his injured fiancée, who remained alive for approximately 20 minutes. He did not perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on her.
“Instead, Stefanutto, a complete stranger, cared enough to administer CPR and call emergency services in an attempt to save Anele Tembe’s life … Forbes cleaned up the hotel room.
“There was blood on the towels. Forbes partied and drank at the hotel with his entourage following the passing of his fiancée.”
