Witness recounts circumstances of Anele Tembe’s fall in Cape Town
In Cape Town, South Africa, witness Robert Stefanutto told a magistrate’s court hearing about the final moments of 22-year-old Anele Tembe’s life. On April 11, 2021, she fell from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub hotel, where she was staying with her boyfriend, rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes.
As Daily Maverick reports, Stefanutto heard a loud argument between a man and a woman coming from the hotel. According to him, the woman shouted: “Leave me, get away from me.” After that, he heard crying, a loud impact, and a man exclaiming: “Oh my God, oh my God.”
Eyewitness testimony
Stefanutto went out onto the terrace of his apartment, saw a person on the pavement near the hotel, and went downstairs. At first, he believed the woman had died. However, he later noticed movement of her left hand from beneath a sheet with which one of the hotel’s security guards had covered her.
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The witness told the court that Tembe was alive and had her eyes open. He asked her to blink if she could not speak and, according to him, she blinked. Stefanutto called emergency medical services, tried to clear her airways, and asked her to breathe slowly and shallowly. He also reported a severe leg injury and blood in the woman’s mouth.
Condition of the room and call to reception
Two police officers who entered room 1004, where Tembe and Forbes were staying, testified that the room was in disarray. One of them said he smelled alcohol and also saw blood on the bed linen and towels, a champagne bottle with traces of blood on its neck, and bloodstains in the bathroom. According to him, Forbes was fully clothed and had no visible injuries.
Forbes told police that during the argument, Tembe allegedly threatened to jump from the balcony. A receptionist stated that at around 7:30, she received a call from him asking for security to be sent because a woman wanted to jump from the balcony. During the conversation, she heard a scream and a loud impact.
