‘Medical emergency’ postpones Anele Tembe inquest to September

Five years of waiting became two months more for Anele Tembe’s family on Monday when the inquest into her death was postponed because the presiding magistrate had a medical emergency.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed the postponement.

“The court heard on [Monday] morning that it had to be postponed as the presiding officer in the matter had to attend to a medical emergency,” Ntabazalila said.

The matter was set to run for three days in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court and will now be heard on September 7, 8, 9, 15 and 16.

Six witnesses have been subpoenaed to testify about the circumstances surrounding Tembe’s death.

Tembe, 22, fell from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town on April 11 2021.

She was engaged to rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, who was with her at the hotel on the day of her death.

The NPA decided in 2022 not to prosecute anyone in connection with her death, a finding her family has long disputed.

Ntabazalila previously said the decision followed careful consideration by the province’s director of public prosecutions, advocate Nicolette Bell.

“After careful consideration thereof, she decided not to institute any prosecution in respect of the death of Ms Tembe and that the matter be referred for an inquest to be held,” he said.

He also said earlier this year the inquest would shape what happened next in the matter.

“It is the findings of that inquest that will determine a way forward on how this matter is being moved forward,” he said.

The matter was referred for an inquest after Forbes was shot dead in Durban in February 2023.

Tembe’s father, businessman Moses Tembe, publicly rejected suggestions at her funeral that his daughter had taken her own life.

“I can’t allow an unfortunate narrative to go unchallenged,” he said at the time.

“A narrative that irks me to no end as a father, which maliciously pervades some circles, is that Anele, my daughter, was chronically suicidal or had suicidal tendencies.”

New text messages emerged ahead of the proceedings.

One exchange was between Forbes and a Tembe family lawyer on the day of an earlier incident at the Hilton Hotel in Durban, where Tembe reportedly threatened to jump from the building.

The Tembe family said the messages raised new questions and wanted the NPA to investigate alleged differences between the lawyer’s affidavit and the texts.

The postponement came a day after News24 released a visual investigation reconstructing Tembe’s final hours, based on CCTV footage, incident reports, receipts and social media activity.

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