Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, the South African rapper long famous by the stage name AKA, has released a statement following reports that he abused his late fiancée Nelli Tembe, and that the abuse she suffered in his hands might have led to her suicide.
Nelli Tembe had allegedly jumped to her death from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town on 11 April. At the time of her death, opinions were divided, with some positing she fell to her death and others countering that she jumped to her death.
With allegations flying around town that AKA might have contributed to her death by (allegedly) abusing her, the “Fela in Versace” star had put out a statement on his social media channels, regretting that some of the people he and Anele trusted with their deepest troubles are now using the same to rubbish his character.
He stated that he was and is still in love with Anele, whatever her past traumas were before he met her. He stated he has been undergoing spiritual and psychological counseling as a result of Nelli Tembe’s tragic passing, and encouraged others to do the same.
In his last paragraph, he insinuated that Nelli Tembe committed suicide, something her father denied at her funeral.
STATEMENT FROM KIERNAN JARRYD FORBES
08 MAY 2021
IT IS A SAD DAY WHEN I FIND MYSELF HAVING TO SPEAK TO THE NATURE OF MY RELATIONSHIP WITH ANELE. WHAT MAKES IT EVEN SADDER IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE, SHE AND I LOVED & ENTRUSTED WITH OUR DEEPEST TROUBLES, ARE NOW USING THOSE AS WEAPONS TO SET A NEGATIVE NARRATIVE ON MY CHARACTER.
I AM A PASSIONATE AND EMOTIONAL PERSON. WHAT I WILL NOT DO AND STAND FOR IS WATCHING PEOPLE ATTEMPT TO DISPARAGE MY NAME AND IMPORTANTLY, ANELE’S CHARACTER TO SUIT A NARRATIVE WE BOTH NEVER SIGNED UP FOR.
WE ENJOYED A BEAUTIFUL, YET CHALLENGING RELATIONSHIP THAT AT TIMES WAS TUMULTUOUS, LIKE ALL RELATIONSHIPS. MADE WORSE BY THE PRESSURES OF BEING IN THE PUBLIC EYE, WHICH WE TOO PLAYED UP TO.
AS NUMB AS I WAS AT ANELE’S FUNERAL, I TOOK IN EVERY WORD IMPARTED, THE DIRECT ONES AND ALL THOSE FILLED WITH INNUENDOS. I WILL NOT BE A PART OF SPEAKING ON OR EXPOSING OUR TROUBLES AS A COUPLE, TO DEFEND MYSELF FROM ONE-SIDED VIEWS THAT ARE PORTRAYED OUT OF THEIR FULL CONTEXT EVERY STORY HAS TWO SIDES AND SO DOES EVERY VIDEO, IMAGE AND MESSAGE…
I AM FULLY AWARE OF WHO THE ‘SOURCES’ ENGAGING MEDIA ARE AND WHAT THEIR INTENTION IS, WHICH IS TO INFLUENCE THE SAPS INQUEST – WHICH THE INVESTIGATING OFFICER HAS STATED NUMEROUS TIMES TO MY LEGAL TEAM AND TO THEM, THAT I KIERNAN JARRYD FORBES, HAVE NOT BEEN NAMED TO BE A SUSPECT, BUT HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT A COOPERATING WITNESS.
WHAT I WILL SAY AS MY TRUTH; I WAS AND STILL AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH A GIRL, CARRYING WHATEVER PAST TRAUMAS SHE FACED BEFORE I MET HER.
I OWN UP TO MY PAST AND CURRENT TRAUMAS, AND THUS I HAVE SUBMITTED MYSELF TO PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL COUNSELLING FOR MY OWN BENEFIT AND GROWTH.
I HOPE EVERYONE AFFECTED BY ANELE’S TRAUMATIC PASSING DOES THE SAME FOR THEMSELVES, INDIVIDUALY AND COLLECTIVELY, SO THAT WE MAY ALL AFFORD HER SPIRIT THE REST SHE DESERVES AND COME TO TERMS WITH THE CHOICE SHE MADE THAT FATEFUL MORNING OF 11 APRIL.
