On Thursday, the father of Anele Tembe, Moses, addressed wild conspiracy theories tying him to the death of Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes.
Anele Tembe father denies involvement in AKA death
Moses Tembe’s daughter fell to her death from the 10th floor of a Cape Town boutique hotel in April 2021.
The death was initially ruled as suicide but things took a shocking turn when at her funeral, Moses made it abundantly clear that in the view of the Tembe family, Anele could not have taken her own life.
Of course, this implied that AKA, or whoever else was in the hotel suite on that fateful morning, may have been responsible.
Despite vehemently denying any and all involvement in his late fiancee’s death in interviews, AKA lived the last two years of his life, until his tragic death, with a cloud of suspicion hanging over his head.
The Prada rapper was with friends in Durban on Friday, 10 February 2023, when, shortly after exiting Wish restaurant at around 22:00, he and his former manager Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, were gunned down on Florida Road, in what’s been touted as a coordinated assassination.
Social media sherlocks, helped by leaked CCTV footage, versions of which were doctored to isolate AKA’s friend and DJ Don Design as a possible mastermind behind the murder plot, drove wild conspiracy theories about how Moses, a successful businessman with far-reaching influence in Durban, may have ordered the hit to settle a score.
In a statement to Tshisa Live, Anele Tembe’s father categorically denied any and all involvement in AKA’s death.
“It is with grave concern that my family and I have had to endure a flurry of posts on various social media platforms that accuse me, and members of my family, of being involved in the death of Kiernan Forbes. These accusations are untrue and without substance,” he said.
Moses added that the mounting speculation around his family’s involvement in the double homicide has inflicted “personal and emotional harm on us.”
“After having to deal with the tragedy of the untimely passing of our daughter, this senseless crime has taken a further emotional toll on us. I respectfully request the individuals making these baseless statements to refrain from doing so,” Moses wrote.
Here’s why AKA was never prosecuted for the death of Anele Tembe
In a shocking development in the inquest into Anele Tembe’s death, the NPA’s Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Nicolette Bell, revealed that her decision to not prosecute anyone culminated from the outcomes of extensive investigations conducted by SAPS detectives and prosecutors.
“After careful consideration thereof, (Bell) decided not to institute any prosecution in respect of the death of Tembe and that the matter be referred for an inquest to be held,” the NPA’s Western Cape office noted in a statement to IOL News.
According to the NPA, the Tembe family was informed of the decision in June 2022 and in response, they “wished to make representations regarding the DPP’s decision to the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP),” which never materialised.
“As a result thereof, the inquest regarding the death of Tembe was delayed pending representations to the NDPP,” the NPA explained.
At the time of AKA’s death, the Tembe family had made a second attempt to apply for access to Anele Tembe’s case docket in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) but that too was in limbo since “the attorneys appearing for Tembe’s family had not lodged their representations to the NDPP.”
Moses Tembe, however, has maintained his stance on the fate of his daughter. Speaking to IOL News, Tembe echoed the words he had uttered at his daughter’s funeral:
“I was not there when Anele met her fate… I neither seek to attack any person nor cast aspersions or suspicions nor stigmatise any mental condition.
“However, I can’t allow an unfortunate narrative to go unchallenged. 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,” he said at the time.
AKA will be laid to rest in a private funeral ceremony only open to family and close friends.
On Friday, 17 February 2023, the late rapper’s memorial service will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre and can be live-streamed right here.
In a statement released on Thursday, AKA’s family confirmed his upcoming album Mass Country will be released on schedule, as a way of honouring his wishes and celebrating his life with the Megacy.
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