South African hearing told of discrepancies in time help was called over Anele Tembe’s death
In Cape Town, South Africa, conflicting testimony was heard during a formal inquiry into the circumstances of Anele Tembe’s death regarding the time help was called to the hotel before her fall from the 10th floor of the Pepper Club Hotel on April 11, 2021. As TimesLIVE reports, the court also heard the account of the late rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes about the couple’s argument over marriage.
Tembe, who was 22, was Forbes’s fiancée and was staying with him at the hotel when the tragedy occurred. Forbes himself was killed in Durban in February 2023. Nine witnesses testified at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court hearing. The court ordered that the identities of those who requested anonymity not be named or recorded.
Account given to police
A police officer told the court that about 35–40 minutes after Tembe’s fall, Forbes gave law enforcement his account of the events of that night. According to the officer, the musician said the couple returned to the hotel at about 11 p.m. with another couple and drank alcohol after the other couple left. Tembe allegedly later spoke about pressure from her father regarding the timing of the wedding and threw her engagement ring at her fiancé.
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According to the police officer’s testimony, Forbes said that at around 6 a.m. he decided to book another room. After that, Tembe, according to his account, began screaming and threatening to jump from the balcony. He allegedly called reception and asked for security to be sent, and when he came out of the bathroom, Tembe was no longer in the room. The officer noted that Forbes did not tell him about any attempts to persuade his fiancée not to jump.
Time of call and traces in the room
A hotel employee said she received a call from room 1004 from an agitated man who asked for security to be sent because someone was standing on the balcony and threatening to jump. According to her, the caller did not refer to that person as his girlfriend or fiancée. At the same time, separate evidence indicated that the fall may have occurred at around 7:30 a.m., while the call from room 1004 was logged at about 7:43 a.m.
The police officer who examined the room described blood stains on a champagne bottle, bed linen, towels and the bathroom wall. There were also cigarette butts and a chair on the balcony. Other witnesses said they heard a woman shortly before the fall screaming for someone to leave her alone and move away. The hearing was adjourned until October 19.
