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(TALKZIMBABWE) Zanu-PF politician, Patel, dies

Zanu-PF politician, Patel, dies
Posted by By Our reporter at 12 September, at 22 : 18 PM

VETERAN politician and Zanu-PF Politburo member, Kantibhai Gordanbhai Patel (pictured), has died. He was 83.

A family spokesperson, Vijay Patel, son to the late said Patel died on Saturday morning at a Johannesburg hospital where he was being treated for hip and shoulder injuries sustained when he fell at his Ridgeview home last month.

He described the late Patel’s death as a loss not only to his family but to the entire nation.

Present at the funeral was Zanu-PF central committee member, Noah Mangondo, who said the late Patel will be remembered for his immeasurable contribution to Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe.

He said Patel will also be remembered for his dedication in mobilising funds and encouraging the Asian community to engage in the politics of the country’s liberation.

Patel‘s body is expected to be brought back to the country this on Tuesday.

Patel is survived by three sons and seven grandchildren.

Meanwhile, Zanu-PF Harare province has recommended to the party that the late veteran politician and Politburo member Patel be accorded national hero status.

Province chairman, Ambassador Amos Midzi said the late Patel’s invaluable contribution to the party will be missed.

Ambassador Midzi said while recollecting Patel’s work on behalf of the party and the nation, the province has recommended to the party that the late veteran politician and businessman be honoured with national hero status.

Born on the 28th of October 1928 in Gujarat State in India, the late Patel was educated in India and came to Africa halfway through his university studies.

Heavily involved in mobilising financial support for the nationalist movement throughout the liberation struggle, Patel pioneered the Zanu-PF Ridgeview branch in 1980 where he encouraged members of the Asian community to play an active role in Zimbabwean politics while also serving in various capacities in the party and in government.

President Robert Mugabe, on Monday sent a condolence message to the Patel family.

In his message, the president said the late Patel was a veteran nationalist and astute politician who belonged to the rare breed of courageous non-African revolutionaries in Zimbabwe.

He said Patel’s contributions to the liberation struggle and his philanthropic work are well documented and shall remain etched in the annals of the history of Zimbabwe.

He said he recalls the late Patel’s heroic political activities in the National Democratic Party, the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (Zapu) and the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF).

On behalf of Zanu-PF, the government and the entire nation and on his own behalf, President Mugabe expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Patel family, particularly his children who have lost a strong pillar of support both spiritually and physically.

Labels: OBITUARIES, ZANU-PF

posted by MrK @ 4:07 PM