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Tembe inquest resumes · Drive with John Perlman

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, forensic evidence has also been very much front and
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  Speaker 1: center in a matter down in Cape Town, not a
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  Speaker 1: high court, but this time a magistrate's court that is
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  Speaker 1: conducting a formal inquest into the death of Anele Tembe,
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  Speaker 1: who at the time was engaged to Kiernan Forbes, and
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  Speaker 1: she fell from the 10th floor of the Pepper Club
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  Speaker 1: Hotel in the center of that city. And Tutuzelo Nene
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  Speaker 1: is our EWN reporter who's been listening in very closely
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  Speaker 1: to that matter. And Tutuzelo, we understand that, you know,
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  Speaker 1: some of the evidence is dealt with footprints and fingerprints.
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  Speaker 1: And there's also been evidence about scratches and blood. It
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  Speaker 1: sounds like a very eventful day in the court today.
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  Speaker 1: What have been the key things that the court has heard?
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  Speaker 2: Good afternoon, John. The most interesting testimony today was that
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  Speaker 2: of forensic analyst at SEBS Forensic Science Lab in Cape Town,
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  Speaker 2: Lieutenant Colonel James Philander, who testified about the test that
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  Speaker 2: he was part of conducting to determine how Tembe may
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  Speaker 2: have fallen. And there were four scenarios, John, that were tested.
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  Speaker 2: using dummies or mannequins that were built to match Tamba's
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  Speaker 2: weight and height as close as possible. So those scenarios
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  Speaker 2: were whether she slipped or moderately pushed, aggressively pushed, or
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  Speaker 2: whether she jumped. The findings ruled out the slip and
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  Speaker 2: a slight push. So the two likely possibilities are that
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  Speaker 2: she may have been aggressively pushed or that she may
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  Speaker 2: have jumped herself. Police experts have also testified detailing their
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  Speaker 2: findings at that hotel. Witnesses have previously also testified hearing
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  Speaker 2: a scream and a bang before she was found lying
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  Speaker 2: in the streets. A crime scene investigator said, You know,
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  Speaker 2: telling the inquest that she photographed AK's body before it
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  Speaker 2: was taken for medical examination, noting several scratches on his chest,
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  Speaker 2: on his back, on his leg and a forearm fracture. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 2: a fingerprint expert also testified that partial prints of Tembe's
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  Speaker 2: feet were found on the balcony railing, with some marks
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  Speaker 2: indicating her feet were facing the door and that her
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  Speaker 2: bag was facing the street where she was found lying.
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  Speaker 1: What did they, because presumably they drew some things out
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  Speaker 1: of what you've just shared with us. The fact that
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  Speaker 1: she was facing with her back to the street, what
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  Speaker 1: possible conclusions might they have drawn from that?
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  Speaker 2: The two possibilities that I've just mentioned, John, is that
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  Speaker 2: she may have been aggressively pushed or that she may
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  Speaker 2: have jumped from that position the way that she was
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  Speaker 2: standing on that balcony. So those are the two scenarios
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  Speaker 2: that are possibilities of what might have happened later. you know,
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  Speaker 2: on the day that she fell from the 10th floor
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  Speaker 2: of the Purple Club Hotel.
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  Speaker 1: And Tutuzelo, just to wrap, I mean, any idea of
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  Speaker 1: where we are in the process? I don't know how
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  Speaker 1: many days the inquest has been set down for. Are
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  Speaker 1: there a good number of witnesses still to come? What
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  Speaker 1: are we looking at going forward?
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  Speaker 2: For over the next three days, we are expecting seven witnesses.
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  Speaker 2: So today we've heard from four witnesses already. So we
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  Speaker 2: are left with three witnesses up until Wednesday. So we're
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  Speaker 2: not sure, you know, how many witnesses will be appearing
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  Speaker 2: tomorrow or Wednesday. But the inquest has been set for
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  Speaker 2: three days for those seven witnesses to take the stand.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much. Tutuzelo Nene is keeping an eye on
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  Speaker 1: the witness into the tragic death of Anele Tembe. This
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  Speaker 1: is taking place down in the Magistrates' Court down in
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  Speaker 1: Cape Town, referencing an issue in the early hours, a
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  Speaker 1: tragedy that took place in the early hours of of
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  Speaker 1: April the 11th, 2021. Families wait a long, long time
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  Speaker 1: for insight and clarity into these kind of incidents, it
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  Speaker 1: would seem.