Anele Tembe Inquest: Witness Heard ‘Leave Me Alone’ Before Fatal Fall
CAPE TOWN: A witness has told the Anele Tembe inquest that he heard what sounded like an argument between a man and a woman, followed by a woman shouting “leave me alone” and “get away from me” shortly before Tembe’s fatal fall from the Pepperclub Hotel.
The evidence was heard in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 7 September, during the first day of the formal inquest into the 22-year-old’s death.
The witness, who lived in an apartment near the hotel, said he could hear what appeared to be an argument before hearing the woman shouting.
According to his testimony, the shouting was followed by a wailing sound and then a loud bang.
Witness initially thought the bang was a gunshot
The witness told the court that the noise was so loud that he initially thought he had heard a gunshot.
He went outside following the commotion and discovered Tembe lying on the ground below the hotel.
At first, he believed she was dead.
However, while seeking assistance, he noticed movement and realised she was showing signs of life. He then contacted emergency services in an attempt to get medical help to the scene.
The testimony provides the inquest with an independent account of sounds heard shortly before Tembe was found outside the hotel.
Crucially, the witness did not see what was happening inside the hotel room. His evidence therefore establishes what he says he heard, rather than precisely who was speaking or what was taking place inside.
Hotel employee also heard scream and bang
The evidence takes on additional significance when considered alongside testimony from a Pepperclub Hotel employee heard separately on Monday.
The employee testified that Kiernan “AKA” Forbes called hotel reception asking for security to come to the room because someone was on the balcony.
She told the court that Forbes sounded panicked.
While she was still dealing with the call, she heard a loud scream followed by a bang. She then rushed outside and found Tembe lying below the hotel.
The two witnesses were describing events from different positions and circumstances. Their accounts form part of the evidence the court will consider when reconstructing the sequence of events immediately before Tembe’s death.
Inquest hears couple had argued
Police testimony presented earlier in the proceedings also dealt with an argument between Tembe and Forbes.
An officer told the court that Forbes said he and Tembe had been arguing in their hotel room.
According to Forbes’s statement read into the court record, Tembe allegedly threatened to jump from the building. Forbes said he contacted hotel security but did not believe she would actually jump because of what he described as a previous incident in Durban.
Forbes said he went into the bathroom and, when he emerged, Tembe was no longer inside the room. He said he went to the balcony and saw her lying on the street below.
That is Forbes’s account as presented through police evidence. Forbes cannot give evidence or be cross-examined at the inquest because he was murdered in Durban in February 2023.
Six witnesses testify on Day 1
Six witnesses gave evidence on the opening day of the inquest.
They included two police officers, a hotel manager, a nearby resident, a businessperson who supplied video footage to police and a Pepperclub employee.
The magistrate has ordered that witnesses may not be named unless they consent and has imposed restrictions on livestreaming, filming and recording the proceedings.
Court examining Anele Tembe’s final moments
Tembe died on 11 April 2021 after falling from the tenth floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town.
She was engaged to Forbes at the time.
The National Prosecuting Authority previously decided not to prosecute after considering the investigation. The matter was later enrolled for a formal inquest.
The evidence about an argument and screams does not establish that Forbes or another person caused Tembe’s death.
The inquest must consider the evidence as a whole in determining how Tembe died and whether her death involved the unlawful conduct or negligence of another person.
Proceedings continue in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court.
