Overview
- Anele Tembe fell from the 10th-floor balcony of the Pepperclub Hotel on 11 April 2021 and her body was found on Loop Street.
- The Cape Town Magistrate’s Court opened a three-day inquest on 13 July 2026 to determine whether her death was suicide, an accident or involved criminal conduct.
- The National Prosecuting Authority referred the case for the inquest after public pressure that rose following the 2024 assassination of rapper Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes, who was with Tembe on the night she died.
- New materials being presented include hotel footage, messages between Tembe and others and a leaked letter from the family’s lawyers that accuses AKA of possible wrongdoing; those claims are contested by AKA’s family.
- The Tembe family says the inquest could prompt a fresh criminal probe if the magistrate finds new evidence worth investigating, and a separate criminal trial over AKA’s 2024 murder is scheduled for October–November 2026.