Where was AKA when Anele Nelli Tembe fell to her death on that fateful morning of April 11? And why didn’t he rush to her side as she lay naked, dying on the street? These are a handful of questions social media users would like answers to following leaked video footage of rapper, singer, AKA (Kiernan Forbes) and Tembe amid accusations of abuse and violence.
Tembe fell to her death from the 10th floor of the luxurious Pepperclub Hotel on 11 April 2021. At her funeral her father Moses Tembe said he did not believe she was suicidal, and blamed drugs and alcohol for her death.
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Social media has been blowing up ever since Forbes released a statement on Saturday, 8 May distancing himself from possible accusations of his involvement in Anele ‘Nelli’ Tembe’s untimely death.
“It is a sad day when I find myself having to speak to the nature of my relationship with Anele. What makes it even sadder is the knowledge that some of the people, she and I loved and trusted with our deepest troubles, are now using those as weapons to set a negative narrative on my character.”
Instagram and Twitter users comforted Forbes following the release of his statement that said there are people who are close to them talking to the media to create a false narrative about their relationship.
“We enjoyed a beautiful, yet challenging relationship that at times was tumultuous, like all relationships. Made worse by the pressures of being in the public eye, which we too played up too,” further read the statement.
The comfort changed to anger on Sunday morning when the Sunday Newspapers and online media broke news of video footage showing Forbes breaking down a door in March at his home to get to Tembe. More images of Tembe nursing a bruised face after AKA allegedly ‘smashed her face into a wall’ have circulated creating more hype around the state of their relationship just weeks before her death.
According to reports from online media, police have met with Forbes on three occassions – first on the day Tembe died, the second time the day after and more recently on Thursday, 6 May.
In his statement, Forbes said: “I am fully aware of who the ‘sources’ engaging the media are and what their intention is, which is to influence the SAPS inquest – which the investigation officer has stated numerous times to my legal team and to them, that I Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, have not been named to be a suspect, but have been nothing but a cooperating witness.”
It is alleged that AKA’s team released further video footage of Tembe ‘high on drugs’ rocking back and forth on the floor while he filmed the damage around her, saying she was high and he didn’t touch her so when it gets to court he has evidence. He also said Tembe tried to jump off the balcony in the video – leading more evidence that she has tried on more than one occasion to jump off a balcony.
In another video two males are trying to calm her down when she was visibly upset, crying and saying they don’t know what he (AKA) does to her.
Police have not released any further information regarding their investigation and the outcome of the case remains unknown. But the question remains, where was AKA in Nelli’s last moments?
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