Was tricky rescue a foretaste?

On December 11, Anele “Nelli” Tembe stood on a ledge near the top of the 19-storey Durban Hilton Hotel just before 8am. A risky rescue was planned over an emotional 50 minutes.

Sources with knowledge of the incident said Tembe was consoled and counselled by her cousin, who stood a few metres away, while a team of first responders and hotel staff worked in the background.

Tembe became emotional and distracted. In a split-second gap, police rescuers saw a chance to snatch her to safety.

Sources said Tembe was aggressive when they grabbed her. “Outside of an emotional state she was highly aggressive — she was clearly confrontational. ‘Leave me, I want to die’ ... she kept on saying that while fighting off the police.”

A hotel worker said her fiancé, rapper AKA (Kiernan Forbes), was in the hotel but not at the scene.

“We could have asked him to come out but she may have just jumped. Her cousin was present the whole time, but the minute the cops arrived she became very aggressive,” said the hotel worker.

“We kept on encouraging her cousin to keep talking to her ... She turned around for a split second and started crying in her hands.

“In that moment the officers ... grabbed her. It was such a tense and risky move.”

Tembe was taken to hospital.