AKA'S late girlfriend, Anele "Nellie" Tembe, has been honoured with a library named after her.
The Anele Tembe Library was opened on Tuesday, 30 January, at the Durban Girl's College in Durban, KZN by her family.
The school was her alma mater, and she passed her matric in 2017.
It's been three years since Nellie (22) died. She fell from a 10th-floor flat in Cape Town in 2021 while with her boyfriend, AKA.
AKA (35) died two years later, on 10 February 2023, in Durban while there for a gig.
The Tembe family spokesman, Manqoba Zungu, told Daily Sun that Anele loved to acquire information, and that's why they opened a library.
"In 2021, after Anele's tragic passing, we started the Anele Tembe Foundation, and one of the projects we wanted to do was a legacy project for her. We chose to do a library because Anele liked acquiring knowledge, and she did that through reading, travelling or just having conversations with older people.
"She was very inquisitive, so we thought this was the most fitting way to honour her because of the person she was. Also, because it helps other kids to get knowledge about a variety of things," he said.
Manqoba said the books in the library will focus on things that Nellie had an interest in.
"There will be books on culinary stuff because she was a professional chef. And then, there will be books about women's empowerment because those are the two main focuses of the foundation.
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"The library has a futuristic design and beautiful art. It's a creative space because she was a very creative person even, when cooking and baking, she cooked funky stuff. We wanted a space where people feel free to express themselves and not face judgement," he said.
Manqoba said the family misses Nellie, but their lives are moving on quite well.
"The family is alright; we miss her, but what keeps us going is the focus on the library because we wanted to do something good for her. Her father, Moses, in his speech at the launch, said building up to the launch, we were emotional because it brought back a lot of memories, but we are glad we achieved the dream and vision we have. And now it has brought a smile to our faces and to know that we've done this in Anele's name.
The Durban Girl's College said the family made a big donation to the school, and they were grateful.
"The Tembe family have generously donated, a significant contribution in memory of their beloved daughter, Anele. As a non-profit organisation, our resources are limited, and every contribution, no matter how big or small, brings us one step closer to realising our dream," they said.
According to the school, the library costs R4 million.
"The Durban Girls' College library is an ambitious project to fundraise R4 million with the vision of creating one of the best school library experiences in the country," they said.
