The Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), Malik Basintale, has publicly addressed widespread rumours about his alleged death and claims that he had been bedridden after suffering a stroke.
Basintale spoke for the first time on the matter on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, when he returned to work after several weeks away from the public eye. Addressing staff of the agency, the YEA boss acknowledged that he had been unwell but dismissed exaggerated claims surrounding his health.
“We are back—back to work. I keep saying that we are all human beings, and so long as I have flesh and blood running through my veins, at any point in time, anyone can fall sick,” Basintale said.
“It is part of nature that you can be sick, you can be healthy,” he added in an upbeat tone.
While he did not explicitly deny that he had been seriously ill, Basintale stressed that sickness is a normal part of human life and should not be a basis for unfounded speculation.
Reacting to reports that he had died, the YEA CEO described such claims as extreme and unnecessary.
“And so when I hear people saying, ‘Basintale is sick, Basintale is dead,’ and all of that—anybody can die. You can die, I can die,” he said.
“With death, it has got nothing to do with how mighty or how powerful one is; only Almighty Allah determines when you die,” he added.
In November 2025, social media was awash with reports alleging that Basintale, who also serves as the Deputy National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), had suffered a stroke and was receiving medical treatment in London. The rumours intensified after he was absent from public engagements for several weeks.
However, in a Facebook post dated November 16, 2025, Basintale dismissed the claims as false.
“Kurugu Toli: ton ton je!! Ignore the false news… No stroke, no London!” he wrote.
His return to work this week appears to have put to rest speculation about his health, as he resumed duties at the Youth Employment Agency amid calls for restraint and responsibility in the spread of information, particularly on social media.
