Johannesburg: 66-year-old Satish Dhupelia, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi has died due to coronavirus in South Africa, on Sunday three days after his 66th birthday.
Satish Dhupelia’s sister Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie confirmed the news on Facebook. She mentioned that her brother had been admitted to a hospital for the past one month due to pneumonia.
“He has suffered from pulmonary fibrosis for many years, but three weeks ago, he contracted pneumonia. While in hospital, he picked up a superbug which led to a second admission. During this second visit, he picked up COVID-19,” Uma wrote on Facebook. He was being treated for COVID-19 and died of a massive heart attack on November 22, 2020.
Dhupelia was a videographer and photographer and spent most of his life in media. He was also very active in assisting the Gandhi Development Trust to continue the work started by Mahatma Gandhi at the Phoenix Settlement near Durban.
He is the son of Shashikant and Sita Dhupelia. He is survived by his two sisters, Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie and Kirti Menon; his children Misha, Shashika, and Kabir. The three siblings are descendants of Manilal Gandhi, who Mahatma Gandhi left behind in South Africa to continue his work after he returned to India.