Anele Tembe Inquest: AKA Said He Thought She Was ‘Kidding’ About Jumping, Court Hears
CAPE TOWN: Kiernan “AKA” Forbes told police that he thought Anele Tembe was “kidding” when she threatened to jump from the balcony of their Cape Town hotel room because she had allegedly made a similar threat during an earlier incident in Durban, the inquest into her death has heard.
The account emerged in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday when a police officer who was among the first at the Pepperclub Hotel read Forbes’s statement into the court record.
According to the statement, Forbes said he and Tembe had been arguing in their hotel room on the morning of 11 April 2021 when she threatened to jump from the building.
‘I thought she was kidding’
Forbes told police that Tembe was on the balcony and holding onto the balcony railing.
He said he contacted hotel security to alert them that she wanted to jump.
According to the statement read in court, Forbes said he did not believe Tembe would carry out the threat because of an earlier incident in Durban.
“I thought she was kidding because she had done it before in Durban.”
Forbes told police that the earlier incident had involved police negotiators and other people, but Tembe had ultimately not jumped.
The previous incident has become potentially significant to the inquest as the court examines Forbes’s explanation for his actions immediately before Tembe’s fatal fall.
AKA said he went into bathroom
According to Forbes’s statement, he went into the bathroom because he did not believe Tembe would go through with the threat.
When he emerged, he said she was no longer inside the hotel room.
Forbes told police that he went to the balcony and saw Tembe lying on the street below.
He also told police that Tembe was taking medication.
This is Forbes’s account as recorded by police and presented to the inquest. It is not a finding by the court about what happened.
Forbes cannot testify about the account or be cross-examined because he was murdered in Durban in February 2023.
Family lawyer questions police witness
During questioning, a lawyer representing Tembe’s family asked the police witness whether Forbes had told officers that he tried to convince Tembe not to jump.
The officer said Forbes had not mentioned anything of that nature to him.
The witness was also questioned about whether Forbes had asked about Tembe’s condition or wellbeing after the fall.
According to the officer, he had not.
These answers reflect the police officer’s testimony about his interaction with Forbes. They do not establish what Forbes may have said or done outside that interaction.
Hotel employee confirms security call
Separate testimony heard on Monday provided independent evidence that Forbes contacted the hotel before Tembe fell.
A Pepperclub employee told the inquest that she received a call from room 104 from a panicked man asking for security because someone was standing on the balcony.
She recognised the voice as Forbes because he had previously stayed at the hotel.
While she was dealing with the call, the employee testified that she heard a scream followed by a loud bang.
She then rushed outside and found Tembe lying below the hotel.
The testimony is significant because it independently supports the part of Forbes’s account in which he said he contacted hotel security before the fall.
Earlier Durban incident could come under scrutiny
The reference to the previous Durban incident could become an important part of the inquest.
Ahead of Monday’s proceedings, previously unseen messages relating to an earlier incident at the Hilton Hotel in Durban had emerged.
According to eNCA, that incident allegedly involved Tembe threatening to jump from the building. Her family has raised questions about evidence relating to the episode and called for further investigation into alleged discrepancies between an affidavit and text messages.
Any evidence concerning the Durban incident will need to be assessed by the court rather than treated as established proof of what happened in Cape Town.
Inquest examining competing evidence
Tembe was 22 when she died after falling from the tenth floor of the Pepperclub Hotel on 11 April 2021.
She was engaged to Forbes at the time.
Six witnesses testified on Monday as the court began examining evidence about Tembe’s final hours, including an apparent argument, screams heard before the fall, Forbes’s call to hotel security, the condition of room 104 and bloodstains found inside.
The evidence presented so far does not establish that Forbes or another person caused Tembe’s death.
The purpose of the inquest is to determine the circumstances surrounding her death and whether it resulted from the unlawful conduct or negligence of another person.
