AKA thought Anele was ‘just playing’ before fatal hotel fall

By Thapelo Molefe

The late rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes allegedly told police that he did not believe his fiancée, Anele Tembe, would jump from their hotel balcony because he thought she was “just playing”.

This was heard in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday as an inquest into Tembe’s death began.

Tembe died on 11 April 2021 after falling from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town, where she had been staying with Forbes.

The inquest seeks to establish the circumstances surrounding her death and whether anyone can be held legally responsible.

A police officer who attended the scene told the court that Forbes said he and Tembe had argued before she threatened to jump from the balcony.

According to the officer, Forbes said he did not believe she would actually jump.

“He told me he thought she was just playing,” the officer testified.

The officer