Satish Dhupelia, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, died of COVID-19 complications in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Dhupelia’s sister Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie posted a message confirming that her brother had died of COVID-19 related complications. According to Uma, Satish had contracted the disease in the hospital while he was undergoing treatment for pneumonia.
“My beloved brother has passed on after a month of illness with pneumonia, a superbug contracted in hospital and then COVID-19 also contracted while he was being treated. He suffered a major cardiac arrest this evening,” Uma said in a social media post. Satish died just three days after his birthday.
Besides Uma, Satish leaves back another sister, Kirti Menon, who lives in Johannesburg.
Satish, Uma and Kirti are descendants of Manilal Gandhi, who was left behind in South Africa by Mahatma Gandhi after he returned to India after staying in South Africa for around twenty years.
Satish Dhupelia was a videographer and photographer and was also very active in assisting the Gandhi Development Trust to carry on the work started by Mahatma Gandhi at Durban’s Phoenix Settlement.
Satish was an active member of several social welfare organisations.
Tributes poured in from his friends and dear ones.
“I am in shock. Satish was a great humanitarian and activist,” Political analyst Lubna Nadvi said.
“He was also a great friend of the Advice Desk for Abused Women, and always assisted the organisation in whichever way he could,” Nadvi added.
