Anele “Nelli” Tembe’s death remains one of the most contested cases in South Africa.
On 11 April 2021, the 22 year old fell from the balcony of a tenth floor room at the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town. Police opened an inquest docket and after multiple reviews, the matter was classified as a suicide.
Her family rejected the decision. Through legal representatives, the Tembe family argued that key evidence had been overlooked and raised concerns about the handling of the investigation.
They also requested the certificate required to pursue a private prosecution, but this was not granted by the National Prosecuting Authority.
The case resurfaced in Parliament when former Police Minister Bheki Cele addressed an ad hoc committee.
According to his testimony, investigators believed Anele had been murdered and attempted to enrol the case several times. Cele told MPs that the docket was repeatedly returned for adjustments and that the required certificate for a private prosecution was refused.
He also stated that he raised the matter with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The presiding inquest magistrate also noted concerns and questioned why the matter had not been taken further.
To understand how the inquest reached this point, Unsolved Murders SA revisits Anele’s life. Born in Durban in 1999, she studied at the Jackie Cameron School of Food and Wine in Cape Town and lived independently while completing her training.
Her relationship with Kiernan “AKA” Forbes became public in 2020. The couple became engaged in early 2021 and lobola negotiations took place soon after.
A widely discussed incident in March 2021 at the rapper’s Bryanston home raised public concern. Forbes later addressed the matter in a televised interview where he denied assaulting her.
On the morning of her death, emergency services responded shortly before 07:45. Anele was declared deceased at the scene and a formal inquest began shortly after.
In 2023, Kiernan “AKA” Forbes was shot and killed in Durban. Despite public speculation, authorities have not linked the two cases at any stage. Both matters remain separate in the legal record.
More than four years later, the inquest into Anele Tembe’s death continues. Each development raises new questions about the handling of the case and the broader challenges facing South Africa’s justice system.
Watch the latest episode of Unsolved Murders SA below.
