Rapper AKA responds to abuse allegations

KIERNAN “AKA” Forbes has spoken out in response to allegations that he physically abused his fiancée, the late Anele “Nellie” Tembe, during the course of their two-year relationship.

These allegations were made in a News24 report in which Tembe’s friend, who did not want to be named, claimed to have images and a video allegedly sent to her by Nellie of an altercation with AKA that took place in their apartment in Bryanston, Johannesburg, in March.

The friend reported that Tembe was hiding from AKA and locked herself in a room.

AKA allegedly broke down a wooden door to get to her. During their argument, he smashed Nellie’s head against the wall and also threw her against the wall.

“My beloved friend, a daughter and a sister to many, was the victim of gender-based violence, an act that has become a scourge in the country,” Tembe’s friend told News24.

Forbes released a media statement on Saturday night explaining the nature of his relationship with Tembe.

“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, individually and collectively, so that they may all afford her spirit the rest she deserves and come to terms with the choice she made that fateful morning of 11 April,” the statement read.

“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 and entrusted with our deepest troubles are now using those 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.”

Tembe died after allegedly falling from the 10th floor of a hotel in Cape Town last month. The police are still investigating the incident.