Bheki Cele Says Anele Tembe Did Not Jump

During a parliamentary hearing on October 23, 2025, former Police Minister Bheki Cele alleged that Anele “Nelli” Tembe was murdered, contradicting initial reports that her death in 2021 was a suicide. Cele’s testimony has caused Tembe’s death to trend in South Africa, bringing renewed public attention to the case.

• Committee hearing: Cele made the allegation while testifying before an Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations of criminal infiltration and political interference in the South African Police Service (SAPS).
• Murder conviction: According to a report by News Live SA, Cele testified, “You will hear one day that there is an inquest in the death of Moses Tembe’s daughter, honourable member police did the investigation and they believed that, that daughter was murdered”.
• Inquest: The Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) previously referred the matter to an inquest court after finding no basis to prosecute anyone. Cele’s testimony has added urgency to the inquest, which has been delayed multiple times. 

• The incident: Anele Tembe, 22, fell from the 10th-floor balcony of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town on April 11, 2021.
• Initial reporting: Shortly after the incident, it was widely reported as a suicide, a claim refuted by Tembe’s father, businessman Moses Tembe.
• Rapper AKA: Tembe was engaged to the rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, who was with her in the hotel room at the time. AKA was shot and killed in a separate incident in Durban in February 2023.
• Toxic relationship claims: Investigative reports and a book by author Melinda Ferguson have since suggested a volatile relationship between Tembe and AKA, including allegations of substance abuse and domestic violence.

• Moses Tembe’s pain: In an April 2024 interview, Tembe’s father, Moses, described his family’s enduring pain and frustration over the delayed inquest, stating, “For the family, we are still feeling so much pain, we are still feeling so much anguish out of the passing of our daughter Anele”.
• Calls for justice: Cele’s recent remarks have intensified public scrutiny of the police’s handling of the case and reignited calls for justice for Anele Tembe.