The Anele Tembe inquest heard on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 that cocaine, antidepressant and antipsychotic medication, and a substance linked to combined cocaine and alcohol use were found in samples taken from her body.
According to TimesLIVE, a toxicologist told the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court that cocaine, and substances produced when the body breaks down the drug, were found in Tembe’s stomach, blood and eye samples. The samples were tested on Wednesday, 21 April 2021, ten days after she died.
What the Anele Tembe inquest heard about toxicology
The toxicologist identified cocaethylene, a substance the body produces when cocaine and alcohol are consumed together, and norcocaine, a breakdown product of cocaine, in the samples, and said 0.2mg of cocaine was detected in her stomach. He also identified a breakdown product of an antidepressant and one of an antipsychotic medication.
The toxicologist, who testified at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, said whether the substances together could be lethal was outside his expertise, because his role was limited to identifying what was present in the samples rather than what effect they had.
Other testimony at the Anele Tembe inquest
Tembe, 22, fell from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in Cape Town in the early hours of Sunday, 11 April 2021. The inquest opened in July 2026 at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, five years after her fall, and is examining the circumstances of her death, including possible negligence or unlawful conduct.
She was engaged to rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, who was shot dead in Durban in February 2023. On Monday, 19 October 2026, police witnesses told the court a footprint on the outer edge of the balcony railing suggested Tembe was facing the room, and that no fingerprints belonging to her or Forbes were found on the rail.
A doctor who examined Forbes shortly after Tembe died told the court on Tuesday, 20 October 2026 that his injuries appeared recent and were consistent with sharp and blunt objects, and that he was cooperative but agitated and stressed. Forensic analyst Jeremy Philander tested four scenarios with a 53kg mannequin to see how Tembe could have landed about 5.1 metres from the wall.
AKA’s father, Tony Forbes, said after the first day of testimony that he was disappointed the facts had not been tested more closely, and that the proceedings felt routine. Seven more witnesses, including police officials and medical experts, are expected to testify over three days, and he said of the physical evidence:
“For me, there is nothing conclusive to show that it was a push,” Tony Forbes said.
Sources
- TimesLIVE, Cocaine and antidepressants found in Anele Tembe's body
- EWN, Inquest hears evidence: Alcohol, cocaine, and prescription meds found in Tembe's system
- Bona, New toxicology findings raise fresh questions in Anele Tembe inquest
- Sunday Times, 'We are just going through the motions': AKA's father questions handling of Anele Tembe inquest
- Sowetan, Anele Tembe's footprint on balcony suggests she was facing room, inquest hears
- Swisher Post, Anele Tembe inquest opens five years after fatal fall
