South African-born Brenda pretended to be Zimbabwean - adopting the name 'Nomvula Khanyile' - in order to increase her chances of staying in Ireland. But, even in her worst nightmares she could never have imagined how horribly wrong it would all go.

Their story began when Brenda, a receptionist, met Bashiru in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2002, where he was serving with the Nigerian military. They fell in love and married despite her family's opposition to Brenda marrying a Nigerian. Bashiru claims multiple threats were made to his life and the couple planned to get away. Brenda came to Ireland in September 2004, already pregnant with their daughter Liyah, now aged two, while he stayed on to finish his military service.

"When Brenda arrived in Dublin airport, her reasons for coming here were deemed invalid and she was put up in a hostel with other asylum seekers. She met a woman from Zimbabwe who persuaded her to seek asylum as a Zimbabwean and to use the name 'Nomvula Khanyile', " he recalls. A month after her arrival Brenda was moved by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) to the Eglinton Hotel in Salthill, Galway and in January 2005, she gave birth to a baby daughter Liyah.

Bashiru eventually arrived in Ireland in February 2006 on a seven day holiday visa. He says he fled the army and Nigeria after his army brigade were discovered to be part of a threatened coup.

He went straight to Galway to see Brenda.

When he arrived at the hostel, he did not recognise his wife. "She used to be a size 14, I didn't expect to see her that way, she was a size 6, she had lost a lot of weight. I couldn't believe it, I thought this is a developed country, yet my wife was starving. She was a different woman to the woman I had left. She did not have the strength to hold our baby for more than five minutes."

Brenda told him she had been unable to eat the food in the hostel since she had given birth. She had been diagnosed with post-natal depression and was receiving care from the mental health services in the Western Area. Liyah had to be placed in emergency foster care on occasions, when Brenda was in the psychiatric unit of Galway University Hospital. Bashiru accompanied her to see their GP, Dr Saber Elsafty who told him that "she was depressed, but he could not explain the reason for her depression".

Bashiru says he wanted to take her away from Ireland, he felt Ireland was not good for her. When he went to get his holiday visa extended so that they had time to plan their departure, his passport was found to be false. He then sought asylum and was placed in a hostel in Dublin.

In August 2006, after letters from Brenda's doctor saying she needed the support, he was united with his family in Galway. When Bashiru was with Brenda and Liyah full time, he realised the problem, that "she vomited after each meal in the hostel and was continuing to lose weight".

Since August 2006, Bashiru has sought alternative accommodation where they could prepare their own meals. Meals are provided for in direct provision hostels, but residents are not allowed to cook. Bashiru claims he has written 18 letters to the Reception and Integration Agency since August 2006 and has received no response from them.

He says he called the RIA every day.

On 15 December, he was offered accommodation in Mosney, Co Louth where there are self-catering facilities.

He says he willingly accepted the offer as all he wanted was for them to be able to cook for Brenda so that she could get stronger and they could build a life together. He received no written offer of the place in Mosney. When he called on 17 December, he was told he needed letters supporting their case for self-catering accommodation. He got letters from the GP, social worker and community nurse, dated 20 December. Bashiru claims when he called on 21 December the woman in the RIA had changed her mind and there was no longer a place on offer.

The couple spent Christmas with friends in Salthill and one friend, who asked not to be named, cooked Christmas dinner and recalls that Brenda was well: "She was really happy on Christmas Day, she was happy to be out of the hostel and she ate some food, but she was very frustrated that they had no place of their own."

On new year's eve, Brenda and Bashiru talked about their hope that 2007 would be a better year for them. On 4 January, Bashiru went to Dublin to meet a friend who was visiting from South Africa. On Friday 5 January he spoke to Brenda who was unwell and Bashiru cut short his trip arriving back in Galway on Saturday.

After 10 minutes of hammering on the door of the couple's bedroom at the hostel, Liyah, who had her second birthday two days beforehand, opened it.

The child was naked, the room was a mess and her mother was dead.

Dr Elsafty says that the primary cause of death will not be known until the post-mortem results are out. But he told the Sunday Tribune it was definitely "not suicide" and Brenda's "not eating could be an element in her death".

Bashiru is much clearer on who he blames: "The RIA are responsible for her death. If they had given her a place where we could cook, she would be alive today."

STATEMENT FROM THE R I A THIS IS AN EDITED STATEMENT FROM THE RECEPTION AND INTEGRATION AGENCY:

THERE was considerable communication in relation to this family and their request for transfer to self-catering accommodation.

An offer was made to move the family to alternative accommodation just prior to the death but this was not accepted.

The RIA places particular emphasis on meeting, to the greatest extent possible, the dietary needs of residents and, in this regard, 28-day menu cycles are in place in all large centres. In small centres menus are cycled on a 7- day or 14-day basis.

All contractors are required to serve, breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.

Breakfast must include eggs, a choice of a minimum of six cereals, a choice of 3 or 4 juices, a selection of fruit and cheese, milk, tea, coffee, toast, brown and white bread, rolls and a selection of spreads, jams and preserves.

Lunch must consist of a choice of three light main courses (to vary daily) together with salads, rice, potatoes, juices, tea and coffee. In the case of dinner, it must include a choice of two starters (one hot and one cold) or dessert or yoghurt and a choice of three main courses (to vary daily) to include a meat dish, a fish dish and a vegetarian dish.

Dishes on offer for dinner include Chicken, Lamb, Lasagne, Nigerian Style Egg Fried Rice with Chicken, Chicken Egusi, Romanian Chicken stew, Ogbuno Soup and Pounded Yam, Lamb Kleftico, Lemon Pepper Haddock, Pork Paprika and Roast Joints.

Dinner also includes rice, potatoes, chips and tea, coffee, milk, soft drinks and water.

Tea, coffee, biscuits, crackers, cheeses and fruit are made available, at the discretion of contractors, outside of normal meal times.