Nelli Tembe, the fiancée of popular South African hip hop artist, AKA, has died after she reportedly jumped out from the tenth floor of a hotel in the early hours of Sunday, April 11.
The police said they are investigating the death of the 22-year-old lady which occurred at the five-star Pepperclub Hotel in central Cape Town.
The details around the incident are still sketchy, but Western Cape SA Police spokesperson, Captain Fredierick van Wyk said crime-scene experts were looking for clues at the hotel.
“Cape Town Central police are investigating an inquest case after an incident at a hotel this morning at about 7.45am on the corners of Loop and Bloem streets, Cape Town CBD, where the body of a 22-year-old woman was found deceased,” he said in a statement.
AKA’s publicist, Phumza Nohashe, said the Forbes and Tembe families would release a statement soon. A source close to the musician said he was “inconsolable”.
Witnesses at the scene described hearing shouting and a “loud doof” sound, and said they had heard a man calling security and crying.
“Paramedics on scene have said a female had allegedly jumped from the 10th floor of that building. When paramedics arrived on scene, she had sustained polytraumatic injuries,” Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said.
“She was in a critical condition and they started a full life-support resuscitation. Unfortunately her injuries were too severe and she was declared deceased,” he added.
Pepperclub Hotel general manager Efi Ella also confirmed that a young woman had fallen from one of the upper floors of the hotel at 7.30am on Sunday.
The couple got engaged only two months ago. AKA, whose real name is Kiernan Jerryd Forbes, had taken to Instagram and Twitter to announce their engagement, describing Nelli as the love of his life.
