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A shocking twist has emerged in the long-debated case surrounding the death of Anele “Nelli” Tembe — the fiancée of late rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes — after former Police Minister Bheki Cele made explosive claims before Parliament this week.
Cele, testifying before the Ad Hoc Committee in Cape Town on Wednesday, suggested that police investigators had not ruled out the possibility that Anele Tembe’s 2021 death was murder — directly contradicting the long-standing narrative that she had taken her own life.
The revelation has reignited public outrage and speculation around one of South Africa’s most talked-about tragedies.
Tembe, the 22-year-old daughter of Durban businessman Moses Tembe, fell from the 10th-floor balcony of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town on 11 April 2021. At the time, she was with AKA, who later told the media that the two had been arguing before the incident.
For years, the case had been widely regarded as a suicide — a painful chapter in a love story marked by turbulence and loss. But Cele’s testimony has turned that belief on its head.
“Police did the investigation and they believed that that daughter was murdered,” Cele declared before the committee, his words sending shockwaves across social media and newsrooms alike.
The former minister said he had personally raised the issue with then-President Cyril Ramaphosa, urging for accountability within the prosecuting authority.
“I went to the President and said, ‘Mr President, your minister of police is going to do something funny. The prosecutor refused to give a certificate, so you can’t prosecute. But the magistrate is now asking why this case was never enrolled because it’s an obvious one,’” he told the committee.
Cele’s comments suggest that state prosecutors may have ignored or buried critical evidence linking the case to possible foul play — sparking renewed demands for a public inquiry.
His testimony comes as the Western Cape inquest into Tembe’s death continues quietly in the background, with legal teams reportedly re-examining evidence that was never made public.
The Tembe family, who have long maintained that their daughter did not take her own life, are said to be closely monitoring developments following Cele’s remarks.
Social media erupted within hours of the testimony, with users calling for transparency and accusing law enforcement of mishandling the original case.
“Three years later, and now we’re being told it could be murder?” one user posted on X (formerly Twitter). “This is beyond disturbing. Someone needs to explain why this was hidden.”
Others questioned whether politics played a role in suppressing the case. “It’s clear now that powerful people wanted this gone,” another user wrote. “If Cele knew, what else did the police know?”
Cele’s statement has also reignited public scrutiny of AKA, who was himself shot and killed outside a Durban restaurant in February 2023 — less than two years after Anele’s death.
Before his passing, the rapper sat down for an emotional interview with journalist Thembekile Mrototo, where he denied any involvement in Anele’s death and described a tense evening marked by heated arguments and emotional turmoil.
“Things got heated,” AKA said at the time. “I decided to remove myself from the situation. I went back because I had taken her phone, and we argued again. Then Anele kind of threatened to kill herself, to jump off the balcony.”
He maintained that her fall was a tragic accident — not a crime.
But for many, Cele’s comments have reopened deep wounds. South Africans are once again asking: Was justice ever truly served?
Adding to the storm, controversial music executive Nota Baloyi resurfaced old claims that he accompanied AKA to the mortuary to view Anele’s body — remarks that had already stirred anger and disbelief when first made public.
Baloyi’s renewed statements have only fueled online speculation that critical details about that night remain untold.
Meanwhile, calls are growing louder for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to issue a formal statement. Civil groups and social justice activists are demanding a full inquiry into Cele’s claims, arguing that the truth about Anele Tembe’s death cannot remain buried under bureaucratic silence.
The People’s Movement for Change (PMC) released a statement late Wednesday, urging the government to reopen the case. “If the former police minister stands by his word that the police believed this was murder, then the nation deserves to see that evidence. This is not a matter that can be brushed aside,” the group said.
Outside Parliament, journalists pressed members of the Ad Hoc Committee for comment, but none would go on record about the implications of Cele’s bombshell.
Legal experts say his remarks could have major consequences for the ongoing inquest — possibly prompting a review of the prosecutorial decisions made at the time.
For the Tembe family, the comments have brought back the pain of unanswered questions. In previous statements, they have maintained that Anele was not suicidal and that evidence pointed to possible foul play.
With Cele’s latest remarks, their belief may finally be finding official validation.
As the country digests this revelation, one thing has become clear — the death of Anele Tembe is far from resolved.
And in a nation still reeling from the loss of two young lives — Anele and AKA — the public is once again left confronting a haunting question: what really happened on that balcony in April 2021?
Because now, even those once closest to the truth are saying — it may not have been what South Africans were told to believe.
