A tribute to Zakia Ahmed Siddiqi: Radio Lotus star and cherished friend

I CANNOT find words to express my heartbreak at the passing of my dearest friend and confidant, Zakia Ahmed Siddiqi.

- Fakir Hassen

ZAKIA Ahmed Siddiqi with Fakir Hassen.

(Supplied)

The only consolation is that she is now together forever in the same grave as the husband she doted on.

She never allowed the memory of Safee Siddiqi to be forgotten even 12 years after his passing.

In the first few months after I was appointed the manager of Radio Lotus in November 1995, I was tasked to appoint a few additional members to the team at the station to extend the limited hours of the broadcasts that had been initiated by Isabel van der Linde.

Among those first interviewees was a young woman who impressed me with her determination to assist in the task we had set for ourselves.

Her name was Zakia Ahmed. The Siddiqi surname came a few years later. I had never met her before, but could hardly have known then that Zakia would emerge to become a shining star of not just Radio Lotus, but also a hugely popular figure in the community with her affable approach to everyone and her infectious laughter.

As we progressed at the station, two teams became very popular at the almost weekly outside broadcasts that we undertook at venues across the country - Sergie Naidoo and Amitha Anand, and Zakia alongside myself.

Both teams were said by many to have a unique chemistry between them.

In the case of Zakia and I, these views were so strong that some even believed that we were a couple.