The police have opened a fresh investigation into the death of slain rapper AKA’s fiancée Anele Tembe.
Tembe, fondly known as Nelly, died after she “fell off” from the balcony of Pepper Hotel in Cape Town two years ago, after an altercation with the rapper, who posthumously won several gongs at the Metro FM Music Awards in Mpumalanga at the weekend.
The musician, who was gunned down in what is believed in some quarters to have been a hit outside the Wish restaurant on Florida Road in Durban, told the police that Tembe, the daughter of KwaZulu-Natal businessman Moses Tembe, jumped to her death after their alcohol-fuelled tiff at the upmarket hotel.
This while her family believes that the SupaMega pushed her off the balcony after their violent squabble. After investigations in June 2022, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute AKA.
Today, Sunday World can exclusively reveal an investigation has been reopened after her family made further representations to the NPA, convincing them that there was a possibility of foul play in events that led to their daughter’s untimely death.
News of a new round of an investigation came to the fore after AKA’s parents, Lynn and Tony, were informed by the police last week that Tembe’s case is being reinvestigated.
“They were told sometime last week that the docket has been returned back to SAPS [SA Police Service] for investigations and that an inquest has been reopened,” the source said.
The deep throat also revealed that the family has not been informed if AKA is a prime suspect in the matter.
“His lawyer is usually the one that pesters them when it comes to the family being updated on the case,” said the mole.
“The only time they spoke to the family was a few days after AKA’s death. After that, they have been quiet until last week, when they told the family that the matter is being investigated once again.”
Sunday World also understands that the NPA’s decision to reopen an investigation comes after Tembe’s family wrote a scathing letter to them (NPA) two weeks after it was informed in a meeting with investigators that the Western Cape director of public prosecutions, Nicolette Bell, had decided not to institute any prosecution for Tembe’s death.
In the letter, the family challenges Bell’s decision not to prosecute AKA, claiming that the crucial information indicating the rapper had pushed or carried Tembe over the balcony of the hotel was ignored.
In the letter, which Sunday World has seen, the family, through lawyers TM Incorporated Attorneys, requests access to the docket which led to the NPA’s decision.
The family also states that the evidence which was ignored included a statement by a crucial witness, Rob Stefanutto, who stated previously that he had heard an argument in between a man and a woman in the rapper’s hotel room.
The family also alleges that 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.
The letter reads in part: “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.”
AKA’s lawyer Rudolph Baloyi of Baloyi Inc, confirmed the reinvestigation took place and said it is a normal procedure they had expected.
He said: “The NPA made an announcement after Kiernan’s passing that there were no charges that were going to be put to anyone. That decision was made in June 2022 already,” said Baloyi.
“In April, we were informed by the NPA after we made enquiries that the matter had been referred to the SAPS/Department of Justice for inquest.”
“It is not necessarily further investigations,” he said, adding that the inquest is a normal procedure allowed in law.
“It is no surprise, we have been expecting if from [the] onset, as this is normal procedure. We welcome this.”
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