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In April 2021, news of Anele “Nellie” Tembe’s sudden and tragic death quickly spread
throughout South
Africa.
At the time of her death, the then 22-year-old Nellie Tembe was rapper AKA’s fiance, but
that’s not all
she was. She was also a daughter, a sister, and a friend to many who had big dreams and a
great
mind.
Here is a detailed biography of Anele “Nellie” Tembe who although gone, will never be
forgotten.
Early life and family
Anele “Nellie” Tembe was born on 11th October 1999 to an affluent family in Durban. Her
father was a
renowned business mogul Moses
Tembe who is the chairman of Phumelela Gaming & Leisure Ltd, and her
mother was the
late Lulu Msumi Tembe who passed on in 2004 following an illness.
There were some speculations that Anele Tembe’s mother committed suicide too which were
circulated after
Nellie’s death. Her older brother Vukile has since rubbished the rumours.
After their mother’s untimely death, the three young children were raised by their father
until he
remarried. Anele Tembe’s stepmother was the daughter of the 8th King of the Zulu nation-
Princess
Ntandoyesizwe.
Her father’s second marriage bore two more children- Mbali and Zomatanga who were Nellie
Tembe’s
half-siblings. She was cousins with former Generations actress Nondumiso
Tembe.
The late Nellie Tembe was a very private person and not much is known about her relationship
with her
family. However, it appears that she was particularly close to her father as her older
brother disclosed
that she had been a daddy’s girl.
Anele "Nellie" Tembe’s education
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Details about Anele Tembe’s early education have not been revealed although according to her
family,
Anele Tembe was a vibrant and focused student.
After 18 months of studies, Nellie Tembe graduated in 2019 from the Jackie Cameron School of
Food &
Wine.
Anele "Nellie" Tembe’s career
After graduating, Anele Tembe who had a great passion for cooking opened her own kitchen at
Sibaya Casino
and Entertainment Kingdom, in Durban.
As the saying goes, “cemeteries are full of unfulfilled dreams,” the young chef unfortunately
never got
to see her dream come to reality as her life ended a little too soon.
Nellie Tembe’s personal life and relationships
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Until her untimely death, Anele Tembe was engaged to famous South African rapper Kiernan
Forbes,
popularly known as AKA.
The two started dating shortly after AKA broke up with DJ Zinhle
in 2020. Details of how they met have not been revealed yet.
On 21st February 2021, AKA announced on Instagram that he had gotten engaged to Anele
Tembe.
“21/02/21 – love of my life said Yesssss," his post read.
Anele Tembe’s relationship with AKA unfortunately never got to the stage of wedded bliss as a
few months
after their lobola negotiations, Anele Tembe passed on.
Anele Tembe’s death
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On 11 April 2021, Anele Tembe’s life was cut short after she allegedly jumped out of a window
of the
tenth floor of Cape Town Pepperclub Hotel where she was staying with her fiance,
AKA.
In an interview
with Thando Thabethe, AKA explained that he had been in a heated debate with Nellie
on the day that
she died and that at some point in the argument, she threatened to kill herself. AKA left
the room to let
her cool off but when he returned, it was too late.
Even though police cleared AKA’s name and ruled Anele Tembe’s death as a possible suicide,
not everybody
accepted the police report. Some people pointed fingers at AKA and accused him of pushing
her out of the
window while her father ruled out suicide, claiming that her daughter had never been
suicidal.