The story and demise of the investigative journalist Ahmed Suale still rings a bell in the minds of many Ghanaians. The media landscape and Ghana at large woke up on the 16th of January 2020, to the sad news of a young journalist who was believed to have been assassinated for his work.
On the night of 3rd October 2021, a young lady, Mariam, messaged a popular social media page asking for help. Administrators of the page, THE IQRA SHOW on Facebook made a live call to the young lady who claimed to be the wife of the late investigative journalist, Ahmed Hussein-Suale.
The Administrator, Naziru Mush, took time to interrogate her on the live Facebook call to be sure they were dealing with the right person. She shared pictures of herself with her late husband to include their wedding pictures. They later enquired why she had to come to them for financial support.
With a crying voice, the young lady explained that she was compelled by her current conditions.
Her Story
She narrated ‘We were evicted by Landlord who had almost doubled our rent and we couldn’t afford because our money wasn’t enough. Upon soliciting support from my late husband’s family, his brothers proposed I relocate back to the North, hopefully I could get a new husband. I attempted to stay in Accra, but I couldn’t afford life in Accra. I expected his family to officially take me back home but that didn’t happen, I felt it was not respectful. Before then, the school fees of our four children were too high for us and the family so we moved them to a less expensive school. Even that it was difficult paying.
The administrator asked ‘haven’t government, the politicians or his former workplace supported you in anyway?
She responded ‘during the very early days of the murder, we got some support from Anas Aremeyaw Anas but since then we have not heard from them. Not the politicians, government or even the family. All attempts to reach out to them for support failed.
She was asked, ‘When was the last time you heard from Anas?
I don’t remember, it’s been long, she said.
When asked, was there any scholarship or something reserved for your children?
She responded ‘No, there was no such thing.
Several more enquiries were made to understand her condition. According to her, she relocated to the North but couldn’t stay there. She has come back to Accra currently living with a ‘sister’ and helping at her shop in Abeka market. Apparently, the ‘sister’ she referred to is the first wife of Ahmed Hussein-Suale’ all this while the young lady was crying.
She was asked the kind of support she will need. She said they needed accommodation and school fees for the children. She also added that ‘anything to help her start some business of her own to sustain their livelihood since she is a secondary school leaver
The administrator of ‘THE IQRA SHOW’ appealed to the followers to support their sister to go through this trying times.
After this facebook call, some reactions followed from the tiger eye team and family members to deny some of her assertions. It is however established that she or they are in uncomfortable condition that will require support from the public hence her approach to social media.
Ideally, most will expect that the Tiger Eye group will adopt some responsibilities to reduce the burden of raising the 4 children Ahmed left behind. The other expectation is that some capable politicians, especially those using his [Ahmed Hussein-Suale] name to do politics, asking for justice could support the young lady. The Journalism fraternity could also offer some support to these innocent kids. The Government of the day could enroll the children to some scholarships to support their education. The core of their needs lies with the family. They at least must provide for these children to ease the woman of the stress in taking care of the children alone.
The IQRA SHOW shared a contact and Momo numbers to support her or them. Some followers shared their emotions as well.
Story by Alim, 05/10/2021
