A friend of the late Anele Tembe has thanked When Love Kills author Melinda Ferguson for writing about the alleged “violent truths” of the woman’s relationship with rapper AKA, real name Kieran Forbes.
The friend – who has remained anonymous – also hinted at their fear of speaking out amid “threats.”
The book comes amid an inquest for the 22-year-old woman who fell off the tenth floor of the Pepperclub Hotel on 11 April 2021. It also coincides with charges of murder against seven men accused of murdering AKA in an “assassination” on 10 February 2023.
ANELE TEMBE’S FRIEND THANKS AUTHOR
In a Facebook post, Melinda Ferguson shared how a friend of Anele Tembe had reached out to her after reading When Love Kills: The Tragic Tale of AKA and Anele.
The book, which hit bookstores around South Africa last month – documents the couple’s rollercoaster romance and both their untimely deaths.
In a screenshot, in which the name had been blurred out, the friend thanked the author for giving Anele “a voice.”
The message read: “Anele was a friend of mine, and I’ve struggled so much watching her story play out so negatively in the media. You speak so aptly when you say that there is no voice of Anele in the social realm and her side of the story was never told.
“I feel like I’ve been stunted in my healing journey because we never got a chance to be angry and have such violent truths about her death revealed. I truly feel like I am reliving her death now. But in a way that I can finally begin to heal because I feel like the pain she experienced is not being overlooked”.
The friend hinted at their inability to tell their story.
The message continued: “I wanted to speak out so many times but have always felt too scared to because of my own experiences and threats in speaking out against my assailant.”
Melinda – who has received death threats over the book – captioned the post: “It feels like this message has made every insult hurled at me worth it.”
A friend of Anele’s watched our webinar last night. It feels like this message has made every insult hurled at me, worth…
Posted by Melinda Ferguson on Thursday 9 May 2024
IS THIS WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PEPPERCLUB HOTEL?
According to Melinda Ferguson, “crazy stuff went down” at the Pepperclub Hotel on the night before Anele Tembe’s death.
The couple had been staying at the five-star hotel after AKA performed at the Ayepyep Club in Kloof Street.
Melinda wrote in When Live Kills: “Threesomes and foursomes were allegedly happening in some of the rooms. The alcohol continued to flow, and there was drugs aplenty”.
The author believes Anele Tembe was under strong psychiatric medication and allegedly consumed both alcohol and “mood-altering substances” along with AKA.
The couple reportedly argued over Anele’s alleged insecurities and jealousy over her partner’s interactions with female fans.
The author then detailed a sequence of events amid the conflict, which included:
- AKA claimed he went down to reception to book another room.
- Went back to the room, where the argument continued.
- Anele then took off her clothes and reportedly jumped off the balcony while AKA had retreated to the bathroom.
- AKA called reception to ask them to send up security
- She provided an “alternative deadly scenario” in which AKA accidentally or purposefully pushed her off the balcony. This, after both she and Moses Tembe believed Anele tried to end her relationship with AKA.
- Anele was alive for 20 minutes after her fall. AKA did not attend to her.
