OPINION | Investigative journalism vs pop culture: A differing slant on Melinda Ferguson's 'When Love Kills'

In "When Love Kills: The Tragic Tale of AKA and Anele", author Melinda Ferguson navigates the tumultuous and tragic relationship between South African pop star AKA and Anele Tembe, set against the backdrop of South Africa's gender-based violence and gun violence crises. The book, which has been met with criticism from AKA's fanbase and family for allegedly profiting from their pain, aims to provide a journalistic perspective on the events leading up to the deaths of AKA and Anele. Nicole Nhlabathi challenges the backlash and opportunism criticism labelled against Ferguson and defends her work as a necessary exploration of a public interest story.

When author Melinda Ferguson announced her then-upcoming book When Love Kills: The tragic tale of AKA and Anele a few weeks ago, the Megacy (AKA's fanbase) roared and called "bullshit.

They said: "Melinda has no business profiting from AKA’s life and the Forbes family’s pain".