Moses Tembe, father of the late fiancée of Kiernan AKA Forbes, is likely to be the subject of renewed speculation about who ordered the hit on the rapper with the publication this week of a new book about the tortured celebrity relationship.
On Thursday — three years since Anele “Nelli” Tembe fell to her death from the 10th floor at Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town — it emerged on social media that author and journalist Melinda Ferguson has written a book, When Love Kills: The Tragic Tale of AKA and Anele, about the deaths of Nelli and Forbes.
The book’s release comes hot on the heels of the arrest in February of seven men linked to the hit on Forbes and his friend chef Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane outside the Wish restaurant in Florida Road in Durban last year.
Three weeks ago, evidence in court fingered taxi boss Mfundo Gcaba as the source of the R800,000 paid to the hitmen. The alleged Gcaba link reignited social media speculation about a possible Moses Tembe connection to the rapper’s death.
In a Facebook post, Ferguson said a leak had forced her to go public about the release of the book, despite her intention to keep it under wraps until the last minute. She said she had received love and support for the work, but there had also been criticism.
I have been through my own kind of hell in my life as an addict, and as someone who has embarked on dangerous and obsessive relationships. Their story spoke to me. It literally broke my heart
— Author Melinda Ferguson
“I wrote this book in an attempt to try to understand a story about two people who fell down a rabbit hole of toxic love. Something kept driving me to keep on in search of some kind of truth about what happened. And why they were now both dead,” Ferguson said on her social media.
“I have been through my own kind of hell in my life as an addict, and as someone who has embarked on dangerous and obsessive relationships. Their story spoke to me. It literally broke my heart,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson declined to comment on the book to TimesLIVE Premium.
The only person who witnessed Nelli’s tragic death was Forbes, fuelling speculation he might have pushed his 22-year-old bride-to-be.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) declined to prosecute anybody for Nelli’s death but an inquest had been due to start on Monday. However, it was postponed for two weeks after a meeting in Cape Town to determine progress made in signing some of the statements.
Tembe family spokesperson Manqoba Zungu confirmed the inquest delay. He said Ferguson had contacted the family for input while she was writing the book, but they had declined to get involved.
Asked about the release of the book, AKA’s father, Tony Forbes, said : “I have no comment.”
The NPA did not comment on the reason for the delay in the inquest into Nelli’s death.
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