Agitated AKA had fresh injuries after Tembe’s death, doctor tells inquest

Share current article via EmailShare current article via FacebookShare current article via TwitterShare current article via LinkedInYoliswa SobuwaSenior Reporter

Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandA doctor who examined AKA shortly after his fiancée Anele Tembe fell to her death said AKA had many fresh scratches and bruises on his left forearm, right leg, right knee and neck. Picture: Instagram/AKA Story audio is generated using AI

Slain rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes had many fresh scratch marks and bruises on his body and appeared stressed and agitated when he was medically examined shortly after his fiancée Anele Tembe fell to her death from a Cape Town hotel balcony in April 2021.

This emerged on Tuesday during the second day of the formal inquest into Tembe’s death at the Cape Town regional court, where the doctor who examined AKA testified about his injuries and behaviour during the medical assessment.

Tembe, 22, fell from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town in the early hours on April 11 2021. AKA, who was with her at the hotel, was shot dead in Durban in February 2023.

The doctor told the court AKA had fresh scratches and bruises on his left forearm, right leg, right knee and neck.

The injuries appeared to have been caused by sharp and blunt objects and were estimated to be between six and 12 hours old or less at the time of the examination.

“The physical examination was done on the patient after exposing his full body. He had many fresh scratch marks,” the doctor testified.

He described AKA as co-operative but visibly stressed and agitated.

“It was quite a tense examination. He wasn’t answering all my questions as I was putting them to him. We convinced him to undress so we could go through the full-body examination,” he said.

“I could understand that at that particular time he was a bit stressed and agitated, so we couldn’t get a proper history of how he got his bruises.”

The testimony follows Monday’s proceedings, during which four senior police officials and forensic experts presented evidence about the circumstances surrounding Tembe’s fatal fall.

The court heard evidence from forensic simulations examining whether Tembe could have jumped, slipped or been pushed from the balcony.

The simulations indicated an accidental fall was inconsistent with the distance between the hotel wall and the point where her body landed about 5.1m away.

However, the forensic evidence did not conclusively establish whether Tembe had jumped or been pushed.

AKA’s father, Tony Forbes, who attended Monday’s proceedings, expressed disappointment over what he described as a lack of rigorous questioning of conflicting forensic evidence, including the location of scratch marks on his son’s body.

Forbes questioned whether the inquest was adequately examining discrepancies between witness statements and medical records.

“There are things happening at this inquest where I feel the right facts are not being put on the table, and what’s being put on the table is not being questioned in terms of how accurate it is,” he said.

The inquest continues, with a toxicologist also expected to testify.

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