RAPPER AKA BREAKS HIS SILENCE REVEALING HOW HIS DEALING WITH DEVASTATING LOSS OF FIANCEE ANELE

By Kevin Koech | May 25, 2021

South African singer Kiernan  Forbes, alias AKA has broken his silence regarding his girlfriend, Anele ‘Nelli‘ Tembe’s tragic death. Nelli, 22, fell to her death from the 10th floor of Cape Town Pepperclub Hotel on April 11 this year.

Following her tragic death, speculations have been surrounding the nature of her death, including claims that she had been in an abusive relationship with AKA.

Speaking during a sit-down interview with TV host Thembi Mrototo, AKA said he alongside Nelli had travelled to Cape Town for a gig when the unfortunate incident took place.

“We were in Cape Town and she had accompanied me for work. It was a great day. We went to V&A (Waterfront) during the day, we had lunch with our friends, went shopping and then back to the hotel then we went to work. We came back around 23:30 with some friends then they left. 

Prior to that week, we had been having a difficult week in our relationship. A lot of disagreement, and so forth. So, we were talking about our problems because I had just paid her dowry two weeks before and we wanted to fix our problems. 

We sat down, we spoke and naturally we started disagreeing again. Things got heated to the point that it was early hours in the morning. I decided to remove myself from the situation and decided to book myself another room and hope things will simmer down.

It got to a point we argued more and she took off her ring and threw it at me. We said mean things to each other and I left the room but I came back because I had taken her phone. We continued to argue and it got to a point where she threatened to kill herself. 

I called the security for protection, and I went to the bathroom. When I came out she wasn’t in the room. I looked around the room and she was not there, then I went to the balcony and looked over and that’s where she was,” he said.

He also denied claims that their relationship was toxic, noting that even though they had arguments, they were passionate people.

“As a couple, we did have a very tumultuous relationship. We’re both very passionate people. We passionately loved each other, very much. That is why we wanted to build our whole lives together. But I think passion goes both ways in this case,” said AKA.

He also denied claims that he was abusive to Nelli, adding that she had mental health issues and had been on medication.

The rapper also said that Nelli had earlier attempted suicide by jumping out of a moving vehicle, further disclosing other incidences where she tried to harm herself.

“In my past time with Anele, it was not the first time that she had attempted to harm herself or threatened to do that. She had done that here in this home and over the phone she had also threatened to drive her car into a wall and also she had to be talked down off the ledge at the Hilton in Durban,” he said.

The rapper also disclosed how Nelli’s family found out about the news of their daughter’s death, revealing that his father, Tony Forbes, told Nelli’s father.

“My father called on her father. I think he went out to the corridor because I said to him somebody needs to tell her family about then incident. I’ve never talked to my father about the call but I believe it’s him,” he said.

AKA further disclosed his first meeting with Nelli’s family after the incident, saying there was no blame or whatsoever with the fact that she died after an argument.

“There was no blame they didn’t blame me at that moment they didn’t say anything, if anything they were quite compassionate and quite mournful with me they could see I was in the state,” he said.

AKA also dismissed Nelli’s father, Moses Tembe’s tribute during her funeral indicating that she did not commit suicide, saying Tembe knew her daughter was suicidal.

“I can’t speculate as to why that was his statement but I do know that culturally, what I can think of is that mental health and depression, especially suicide, is taboo. In terms of the family as well, it’s a taboo and a no-go area and something that can’t happen to their child, but I also know at the same time that he was well aware that Anele was on medication.

We spoke about it many times. We had spoken about it after she had spent a week in a psychiatric hospital in Umhlanga. So he was well aware that she had stayed there for a week and was aware because him and I had spoken at length about her suicide attempt in Durban. He was the one who picked her up from hospital,” said the rapper.

The rapper wondered why he was not allowed to speak during Nelli’s funeral despite paying her dowry, and communicating to the family about it.

“It’s strange to me because I was her husband I had paid dowry. I thought I would have an opportunity to speak at her funeral, to pay tribute to her and I communicated that to the family through the person on my side who was handling funeral arrangements and when I got there and opened the memorial book and my name was not there,” he said.