Isis Nashid: The Egyptian woman who birthed Kwame Nkrumah's 'controversial' first born

One of the biggest stories and arguably most controversial story about the private life of Ghana’s first president, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah is that he had a son out of wedlock.

Decades after he was gone, the Nkrumah family got embroiled in controversy with his children fighting the arrival of one Onsy who claimed to be the son of the iconic African leader.

Onsy's arrival as Kwame Nkrumah’s son was challenged by his known children, particularly Samia and Sekou Nkrumah.

Samia at the time held that Kwame Nkrumah would not have denied any children of his children and therefore the later claim by Onsy decades after the death of Kwame Nkrumah was difficult to accept.

“Our father would not have refused to recognize any son or daughter who came up to him. Everybody knows that he wouldn’t have denied Onsy or anyone this recognition so why now, many years after his passing without any proof, you just come out," Samia earlier said.

On his part, Sekou Nkrumah outrightly rejected Onsy and requested a DNA test to approve the paternity of Onsy Nkrumah.

“I have met Onsy personally a couple of times in the past few years and I told him that I can accept him as a friend but not a brother. I have no right to claim children for Nkrumah and no one has the right to do so. But I am not aware that Onsy is the son of Nkrumah because I have not been told by any family member. My own personal research does not lead me to conclude that he is the son of Nkrumah,” he said in 2015.

Nkrumah family and close ally accept Onsy

While Nkrumah’s children rejected the man who was parading as their half-brother, a family of Kwame Nkrumah, Nana Bulumiatwum Kwasikutuah, a retired accountant at the University of Ghana, Legon and Mrs Souad Mohammed El Rouby Sinare, an Egyptian and close associate of the Nkrumah Family all backed Onsy and welcomed him as one of Nkrumah’s son.

According to Nana Kwasikutuah, contrary to the four already known children, Kwame Nkrumah had six children namely, Francis, Gamal, Sekou, Onsy, Samia and one Elizabeth Koranteng. This revelation was made to the Daily Graphic in 2015 when Onsy popped up again to fight for his Nkrumah connection.

Souade Sinare was firm in her conviction that Onsy was Nkrumah’s first son and that her mother was an Egyptian by name of Isis Nashid.

‘’The child that came out of the relationship between Kwame Nkrumah and Nashid has traced his roots back to his fatherland and this is Onsy Kwame Nkrumah, who some time ago was welcomed by the family of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah as their son because, I know, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah had told some relatives about him,” she stressed in a Daily Graphic interview.

Who is Isis Nashid

Isis Nashid, per various publications, is an Egyptian woman who was working for the colonial government.

According to reports, Nkrumah and Nashid were fond of each other and in the course of their relationship, Nashid got pregnant.

Owing to the fear of getting pregnant out of wedlock, Nashid is said to have fled Ghana to Egypt where she quickly married.

The result of that pregnancy is Onsy Nkrumah who till date divides opinion within the Nkrumah family.

EK