Veteran Nollywood actress and associate pastor of the Fresh Oil Ministry International Church, Lagos, Eucharia Anunobi lost her only child, Raymond Ekwu to sickle cell Anemia yesterday.
The young man was said to have died early yesterday morning from complications associated with the disorder.
Speaking to NetNG on the phone, the actress said her son had passed to be with Jesus. She said:
‘My son has gone to our place of origin (heaven) to be with our daddy Jesus, waiting for me when I eventually go there at the fullness of time.
Asked about how she felt, the evangelist said: “God knows best.”
Raymond was actress Eucharia Anunobi’s only son. He was the product of her troubled marriage to ex-husband Charles Ekwu.
Eucharia’s marriage to Raymond’s father, Charles, from 2000-2009 ended in a messy divorce that saw the actress slam her husband with a N100 million lawsuit in 2010.
This is the second time that Eucharia, who recently returned to Nollywood after almost a decade break, has lost a loved one in less than three years. In 2015, her dad, Pa Felix Anunobi, died after a brief illness.
Her son, Raymond had been battling with sickle cell anaemia till his eventual death at the age of 15.
Eucharia married Charles Ekwu in 2000 and the marriage lasted till 2006 before trouble set in. Eucharia moved out of her matrimonial home and accused her husband Charles Ekwu of infidelity, among other allegations.
In 2007, many were shocked when the actress dragged Charles to court, claiming that she caught him sleeping with their housemaid. She went on to demand a N100m divorce settlement from him on the grounds of abandonment, irresponsibility and assault.
In her evidence, she also accused Charles and told the court how he beat her up several times, how he had refused to take care of their son Raymond, in spite of his health condition and how she had been the one footing the bills for the boy’s treatment since their relationship packed up.
On one occasion,Eucharia said in an interview when asked how she coped with taking care of her boy all alone without any form of assistance from his father:
“The Lord has been sustaining me as a single parent. I don’t think about it. All I know is that God created me and the child that He has given to me. So, God will provide whatever that I need.”
May Raymond’s soul rest in perfect peace.
