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Five years after the tragic death of 22-year-old Anele Tembe at Cape Town’s Pepper Club Hotel, fresh witness testimony before the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court has cast a sharp, haunting light on the final moments of her life, detailing a frantic pre-fall argument and a fleeting moment of survival beneath the hotel’s 10th-floor balcony.
A Morning Interrupted by Shouts and a Fatal Fall
On Monday, local resident Rob Steffanutto took the witness stand to recount the events of that fateful morning five years ago. Living directly across the street from the Pepper Club Hotel, Steffanutto was inside his home watching the morning news when a sharp, escalating disturbance pierced the quiet. According to his testimony in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court, a heated exchange between a man and a woman drifted up from the luxury property, prompting him to step out onto his balcony to investigate.
Unable at first to pinpoint the exact window or terrace the noise originated from, Steffanutto stepped back inside. Moments later, the situation deteriorated rapidly. He told the court he heard the distinct, desperate voice of a female shouting loudly, demanding: “Leave me alone. Get away from me.” That plea was immediately followed by a chilling wailing sound and a tremendous crash—an impact Steffanutto initially mistook for a gunshot and a violent street attack. Within seconds, a male voice rang out in distress, crying, “My God, my God,” according to the East Coast Radio coverage of the proceedings.
‘Her Eyes Were Open’: The Struggle Beneath the Sheet
Rushing back out to his terrace, Steffanutto looked down to discover a body lying motionless on the pavement below. He sprinted out to the street, arriving to find that hotel security guards had already covered Tembe with a protective sheet. Convinced that the young woman had perished from the fall, Steffanutto was on the phone with the owner of the Pepper Club Hotel when a subtle movement shattered his assumption. As he recounted to the magistrate, he watched her left hand stir beneath the fabric.
Kneeling beside the body, Steffanutto pulled back the sheet to find that Tembe was still clinging to life. “Her eyes were open,” he testified, noting that she blinked at him as he assessed the grim scene. Acting on instinct, he called for emergency medical assistance while attempting to offer whatever solace he could in her final minutes. He spoke softly to her, urging her not to be afraid and offering prayers to bring comfort, unsure of her personal beliefs. The inquest continues to examine the full sequence of events surrounding the tragedy, which occurred while Tembe was engaged to the late rapper Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes, who was staying with her on the hotel’s 10th floor at the time.
