Tembe family refutes claims AKA ‘hit’ was ordered by them

By Khulile Thwala

The family of the late Anele Tembe has come out to deny it had ordered a ‘hit’ on slain South African rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes following social media posts fingering them in his death.

Anele’s father, Moses Tembe, has refuted claims that he or his family had anything to do with Forbes’s death. In a recent statement, Tembe implored people on social media to refrain from accusing him of being involved in the murder of Forbes.

“It is with grave concern that my family and I have had to endure a flurry of posts on various social media platforms that accuse me, and members of my family, of being involved in the death of Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes,” he said.

He further contends that the accusations are untrue and without substance.

“I categorically state that my family feels the pain of the Forbes family and the libellous utterances inflict personal and emotional harm on us. After having to deal with the tragedy of the untimely passing of our daughter, this senseless crime has taken a further emotional toll on us. I respectfully request the individuals making these baseless statements to refrain from doing so,” reads in part the statement.

Forbes was killed on Saturday evening following a close-range gunshot outside Wish Restaurant in Florida, Durban alongside popular South African Chef and one of his closest friends, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane.

Since then, speculation has been rife on social media with some concluding that because the Tembe family is from KwaZulu-Natal, the same province where Forbes was gunned down, they, therefore, ordered the ‘hit’. Anele died in April 2021 after falling to her death apparently from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town. She was with Forbes at the time.

Many have claimed Forbes’s death was revenge for that. A post has even circulated on social media claiming that police officers were part of the ‘hit’.