Bheki Cele claims cops suspected Anele Tembe’s death was murder
Former Police Minister Bheki Cele has made a startling revelation about the death of Anele “Nelli” Tembe, suggesting that police investigators believed she was murdered.
Tembe, who was engaged to the late rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, died in 2021 after falling from the 10th floor of Cape Town’s Pepperclub Hotel.
Her passing has long been shrouded in controversy and unanswered questions, with conflicting accounts surrounding what truly happened that day.
Speaking before Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee in the Western Cape on 23 October 2025, Cele told members that at the time of the investigation, police had not ruled out foul play.
“I’m sure you’ll hear one day that there is an inquest in the death of Moses Tembe’s daughter,” Cele stated.
“Police did the investigation, and they believed that that daughter was murdered.”
His testimony reignited public debate about the case, particularly because it contradicts earlier reports that suggested Tembe’s death was a suicide, an account her family has always disputed.
Anele’s father, Moses Tembe, has consistently maintained that his daughter did not take her own life, a belief now seemingly echoed by Cele’s statement.
The former minister also disclosed that he had spoken directly to the President about the matter, adding:
“I went to the President. I said, ‘Mr President, your minister of police is going to do something funny. He’s going to support the private prosecution. And the prosecutor refused to give a certificate. So you can’t prosecute, you can’t give a certificate. So you’re stuck in the middle. But now I know that in that inquest, the magistrate who is there now is asking the question, why was this thing not enrolled? Because it’s an obvious case.’”