INQUEST: Anele Tembe could ‘climb over balcony’ despite cocaine and alcohol toxicology evidence, inquiry hears

Toxicology findings revealed that Anele Tembe’s blood-alcohol level was 0.1mg above the legal limit before her death, while traces of cocaine, antidepressants, mood stabilisers and psychiatric medication were also detected in her bloodstream.

Tembe (22) fell from the 10th floor of Cape Town’s Pepperclub Hotel on the morning of 11 April 2021. Her death was initially treated as a suspected suicide. The inquest, which began on Monday, 7 September, is examining the circumstances surrounding her fatal fall and whether the evidence supports that conclusion. 

During the second round of witness questioning at the inquest into Tembe’s death, which concluded on Tuesday, 20 October, a pathologist presented the postmortem report, shedding light on the substances detected in her bloodstream before her fatal fall.

At the time of the incident, she was in the company of her boyfriend, the rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes, who was gunned down in Durban in February 2023.

On Tuesday, the State prosecutor focused on selected portions of Tembe’s postmortem report, probing whether fresh wounds on her body could have been inflicted during an altercation shortly before her death.

A police officer had previously testified that some of the injuries could have been sustained before the fall. Witnesses in the inquest have the right to remain anonymous, which all but one have taken.

Asked whether the pathologist could distinguish wounds caused during an assault moments before the impact from those sustained during the fall, the pathologist said this was not possible based on the appearance of the injuries alone.

“At the time of death, the wounds would look the same,” she explained.

The pathologist also said several wounds could have resulted from Tembe striking a tree during her fall. She had also noted branches and leaves in Tembe’s hair and on her body, which supported the possibility that she had made contact with the tree.

But the questioning then shifted to the injuries on Tembe’s neck.

Hickeys, not strangulation

In her postmortem report and a subsequent review of the autopsy photographs, the pathologist identified two areas of haemorrhage, or bleeding into the surrounding tissue. She said the injuries could have resulted from friction, compression or suction applied to the neck.

The examination also revealed underlying haemorrhages in the platysma muscle, a thin muscle at the front of the neck, indicating bleeding beneath the skin.

“It is possible the injuries could have occurred during the fall, although I had not witnessed the full trajectory of Tembe’s descent. Alternatively, they could have resulted from suction, similar to hickeys, or pressure applied by fingers,” said the pathologist.

“I cannot unequivocally say what those wounds were caused by,” she told the inquest.

The magistrate also sought clarity on what the pathologist meant by suction. The pathologist explained that it could be similar to a hickey, or love bite, which occurs when a person presses their lips against the skin and creates suction with their mouth, breaking the small blood vessels beneath the skin and causing bleeding. 

The prosecutor then asked whether the injuries could have been caused by strangulation or choking.

The pathologist explained that, when investigating suspected strangulation, pathologists dissect the neck to look for specific signs of external pressure. These include round or oval bruises that may correspond to fingertips, scratch marks and haemorrhages in the underlying neck muscles. They also examine the hyoid bone and neck cartilage for fractures.

“In strangulation, we usually have haemorrhages in various muscles. However, the postmortem examination did not establish clear evidence of strangulation. The hyoid bone and neck cartilage showed no fractures, while the haemorrhage noted in the report was associated with a fracture of the spine,” she told the court.

Was Tembe capable of climbing over balcony? 

Toxicology findings presented at the inquest into Tembe’s death indicate that cocaine, alcohol and prescription medication were present in her system in the hours before she fell from the 10th floor of Cape Town’s Pepperclub Hotel.

A forensic analyst testified that samples taken from Tembe’s stomach, blood and bowel were tested after the toxicology kit was received on 12 April 2021. The analysis was conducted on 21 April.

The findings included cocaine in the stomach at a reported concentration of 0.2mg/l, three cocaine breakdown products and a mood stabiliser, with 4mg detected in the stomach.

The prosecutor questioned whether cocaine breakdown products would still be present if Tembe had consumed the drug a day before her death. The analyst said they would not, explaining that cocaine has a half-life of about four hours.

The pathologist said: “Her blood alcohol concentration is 0.1 mg, and this is higher than the legal limit. Looking at the various levels of intoxication, Tembe’s falls into the category of euphoria or under the influence, which, in my opinion, she may still have likely climbed over a balcony – she was neither stuporous nor comatose with that level of blood alcohol.”

In simpler terms, there was no indication that Tembe was in a state of severely reduced consciousness, or unconsciousness.

The pathologist cautioned, however, that alcohol tolerance varies between individuals and that she did not have Tembe’s history of alcohol consumption.

Turning to the cocaine findings, the pathologist said the concentrations detected were consistent with cocaine use in the hours before Tembe’s death. Cocaine is a stimulant rather than a depressant, she explained, adding that the levels detected did not necessarily mean Tembe’s consciousness would have been impaired to the extent that she could not climb over the balcony.

The combination of alcohol and cocaine was also examined. When the two substances are consumed together, they can produce cocaethylene, a compound that was also detected in Tembe’s samples. The levels found were consistent with alcohol and cocaine use a few hours before her death, the pathologist testified.

“In my opinion, the deceased may have been able to climb over the balcony,” she said.

Prescription medication used to treat depression and other psychiatric conditions was also detected, but in trace amounts. The pathologist said the levels found would not, in her opinion, have prevented Tembe from climbing over the balcony.

“Looking at them altogether, I would still, in my opinion, say that she may have been able to climb over the balcony,” she repeated.

The inquest is scheduled to resume on 17 November 2026. DM