MP breaks silence on daughter’s death

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante Akim Central, Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, has spoken on the tragic death of his daughter who allegedly committed suicide by hanging in her hostel at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)..

He told his colleague MPs when they visited him yesterday at his East Legon residence to commiserate with him, that it had been the most difficult moment in his life after he finally found out that his eldest daughter who was reading chemistry at KNUST had indeed committed suicide as alleged by the school’s authorities.

“As of now I have tried hard to find answers to the puzzle as to why my daughter could die in such a tragic manner because we provided everything for her and made sure she was always happy. She was my best friend,” the father said.

Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said the message was relayed to him on Friday while he was in Parliament and that it came as a ‘thunder’ to him. He said he prayed fervently as he was driving to Kumasi hoping that the bad news should be one of those ‘April fool’ news.

He said it was a trying moment for him and the family when he eventually met the school authorities and the body of his daughter was shown to him at the morgue of the university hospital.

The MP said his daughter was a lively lady who was jovial and always looked happy and that it’s so sad that he had lost her in such circumstance.

“One thing I have learnt from the death of my daughter is that this unfortunate incident could happen to anybody or any family and that as parents we need to constantly pray for our children in school so that such things do not befall them,” he said, adding that he was completely shocked by the news.

Mr Anyimadu-Antwi said as a Christian he had taken consolation from the fact that “It is God who gives and it is God who takes,” stressing that he had also been overwhelmed by the number of condolence messages and words of encouragement from friends, family members, colleague MPs and members of the public.

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, was represented by the First Deputy Speaker, Joe Osei-Owusu.

A brother of the MP, Mark Antwi-Boasiako, told the visiting parliamentarians that the family was not satisfied with the explanation given by the school’s authority regarding the circumstance surrounding the death of 18-year-old Adwoa Anyimadu-Antwi.

He said they were therefore asking the police to do thorough investigation into the death of the lady.

Some of the MPs who had visited their colleague at his residence before attested to the fact that Adwoa was a very respectful, lively and promising young lady.

The MPs expressed shock that such a tragedy should befall Mr Anyimadu-Antwi who is so affable and very approachable.

The family announced that the young lady would be buried on Saturday, March 4, at Patrensa, near Konongo in the Ashanti Region, after a memorial service had been held for her at the KNUST campus in the morning.