She’s not particularly scared of the death threats she has been getting. But, author, journalist, and publisher Melinda Ferguson doesn’t particularly want to die because of the book When Love Kills: The Tragic Tale Of AKA and Anele which she says consumed her life since she started writing it.
Melinda stands by her word and says it was never for monetary gain, not to shame anyone and it was her journalistic investigation and to tell the tale of a love affair that was allegedly filled with drug-fuelled fights.
In her book, she describes AKA as a bold personality who lived his life publicly, he was encouraged by his parents to be bold, be himself. “Anele Tembe was very tough to write about, she was young and had no interviews and no voice,” she said. “AKA was performing all his life. He loved himself and had so much to say. I don’t know if we ever saw the real AKA, his whole life was a performance.
I can’t say his death was a performance, but he died in a hail of bullets, he is hero-fide,” she added. “He found love in being bigger and a Super Mega character, almost bigger than himself. I found people who said he also wasn’t a nice person, there were incidents of abuse. That the toxic stuff with Anele wasn’t just about her.” Melinda adds that he might have been fascinated by the idea of dating a younger woman as he might have been tired of being with older, independent women, like Bonang Matheba and DJ Zinhle.
As a former drug addict clean from crack, cocaine, heroin and alcohol for 24 years, Melinda says she knows the signs. “I have been clean for 24 years. I know the signs. I used to even lure men like a hooker. But I was a bad hooker. I wanted to just do it, to get crack,” she said. She however cleaned up at a homeless farm after her brother rescued her from a drug den. “Even at the farm I did not want to stop, ” she said. “I wanted to jump off Ponte (a 173 m tall building in Hillbrow). I wanted to kill myself.”
Melinda says she could relate to what happened to Anele on the night of her death. “It brought up a lot for me. A girl falling from a building is something I wanted to do.” Melinda says she believes Anele didn’t kill herself and that it was a mistake that happened while she and AKA were fighting while under the influence of narcotics. She believes Anele’s death was a tragic mistake and that AKA’s death was revenge. “This is all from my investigation. But who brought the hit, we don’t know.
After the book cover was reportedly leaked on Anele’s death anniversary on 11 April, Melinda says she was mortified. The Forbes family then released a statement saying, they had never permitted Melinda to publish the book. “We cannot give any further comment on the book as we are unaware of its contents.
We do, however, find the intended publication of the book and the timing distasteful and opportunistic.” the statement read. Then Moses Tembe followed saying he did not endorse the book.
Melinda says she sat down with many people who wished to be anonymous and Moses several times and even recorded his interview. “He knew I was writing the book,” she says. “I sat down with Moses Tembe. He is in the book.” She adds that many people told her there was no black authors brave enough to do what she did.
Melida says she also knew Lynn prior to even thinking about the book and they were working on a project that did not materialise but cannot divulge. “I do know Lynn Forbes. They brought out a very aggressive statement.
Source: SABC
In other news – Has Thabo Bester escaped again? – Fire at Kgosi Mampuru prison has Mzansi wondering
A fire at Kgosi Mampuru’s Correctional Centre on Thursday, 25 April, has fuelled rumours Thabo Bester has foiled another elaborate prison escape.
The convicted fraudster, rapist, and murderer is currently serving three life sentences at the C Max prison in Prison. He’s also facing new charges of his 2022 prison escape, as well as fraud, corruption, and violating multiple bodies. Read more
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