On the day AKA will be remembered in a public memorial, a scathing letter detailing how the rapper allegedly threw his girlfriend Anele Nelli Tembe off a hotel balcony in 2021 and subsequently covered up her murder, has been leaked.
The letter – written by the Tembe’s family lawyers – was served to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) after the latter revealed their decision not to prosecute anyone following her death.
On Monday, the NPA issued a statement announcing that Tembe’s death would be investigated via an inquest. They also claimed that the family “made representations” questioning their decision.
Nelli died after falling to her death off the tenth floor of the Pepper Club Hotel in Cape Town on 10 April 2021. She was just 22 years old. In the letter, partially published by City Press, the Tembe family – via their TM Incorporated Attorneys – revealed their suspicions of what transpired the day Nelli died.
According to a statement by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Western Cape Nicolette Bell issued on Monday, 13 February, the NPA met with the Tembe family in June 2022. During the meeting, the DDP explained to the family that they would not pursue prosecution against AKA after making an “informed decision” based on an “extensive investigation” which included “several expert opinions and forensic reports.”
The Tembe’s then served a letter to the NPA, reportedly two weeks after the meeting, reports City Press. In it, they make several bombshell allegations, including: AKA “threw or pushed” Nelli off the balcony
“The deceased landed at a distance that is consistent with a person that was pushed. She landed approximately five and a half meters away from the building, whereas if she had jumped on her own, she would have landed approximately two meters away from the building.
“The scratch marks on Forbes’s body, specifically at the back, were defensive marks, in an upward direction, indicating that Forbes was carrying Anele on his shoulders while she attempted to defend herself. The scratch marks are indicative that Forbes threw her over the balcony
According to the Tembe family, the NPA concluded their investigation based on a “fabricated statement made by a receptionist at the hotel. They also accuse the late rapper of fabricating his own statement.
To add insult to injury, the Tembe family expressed their heartbreak that their daughter’s fiance ignored her as she lay dying on the street.
The letter read: “He did not attend to his injured fiancé, who remained alive for approximately 20 minutes. He did not go to perform CPR 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.
Source: thesouthafrican