Ghanaian actress Xandy Kamel has disclosed that she spent time celebrating her ex-husband’s birthday on the same day her first son was being buried.
Speaking to actress Emelia Brobbey, Xandy recounted how her son, after writing his Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), followed his friends to Sakumono Beach but never returned home. She said he drowned.
However, Xandy said she could not attend her son’s burial because of her love for her then-husband, with whom she is now divorced. Instead, she spent the day celebrating his birthday.
According to Xandy, her ex-husband was celebrating his birthday, and friends had gathered at their home for the occasion.
She added that her ex-husband had also consumed some alcohol, and she did not feel comfortable leaving his side.
As a result, she asked her mother and siblings to take care of her late son’s body while she stayed with her husband.
“I remember September 17, which was my ex-husband’s birthday. That same day, my first son was being buried. He had finished writing his BECE and followed his friends to Sakumono Beach, but he never returned. He drowned.
“We were at home when we received the news of his death, but I could not go to his burial that day because I was in love with my ex-husband and we were celebrating his birthday. So, it was my mother who went to bury my late son,” she recalled.
However, the actress clarified that when her son drowned, his body was not found immediately. She explained that rituals had to be performed by the sea, and she was present during that process. The body was eventually swept to the shore three days later.
Xandy also explained that she did not follow her son’s body to the burial because, according to the customs of where she comes from, his death was considered tragic and unnatural, known in Akan as “Atofo Wuɔ.”
She said that under those circumstances, she was not permitted to see the body.
This, she explained, was why she did not follow her son’s body for burial and instead returned to her ex-husband’s birthday celebration.
