admin
Politburo members were yesterday consulting through round robin on the befitting hero status to confer on him.
Cde Patel died on Saturday at Linksfield Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was receiving specialist treatment after some inju-ries he sustained when he fell at his Ridgeview home recently.
He was 83.
In his condolence message, the President described Cde Patel as “a veteran nationalist and astute politician who belonged to a rare breed of very few courageous non-African revolutionaries in Zimbabwe.
“His contributions to the liberation of this country and philanthropic work are well-documented and they shall remain etched in the annals of the history of Zimbabwe.
“We recall his heroic political activities in the National Democratic Party, the Zimbabwe African People’s Union and the Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front).”
President Mugabe said at Independence, Cde Patel embraced the new political dispensation in Zimbabwe and joined hands with other comrades in the revolutionary party, Zanu-PF, to defend the country’s sovereignty and consolidate the gains of independence.
EARLIER REPORT
He said Cde Patel gave wise counsel to many people in Zanu-PF, the Hindu community, in business circles and to the charity organisations he was associated with.
“He lived for peace and equality among all races and demonstrated this creed throughout his political, religious and economic life.
“On behalf of the party, Zanu-PF, Government and the people of Zimbabwe and on my own behalf, I wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the Patel family, particularly his children, who have lost a strong pillar of support both spiritually and physically.
“May they derive comfort and encouragement from the love and respect which their father commanded among many Zimbabweans from all walks of life and the knowledge that his passing on is not their loss alone, but a great loss to our nation,” President Mugabe said.
Cde Patel’s body is expected in Harare today and will be accompanied by family members.
Zanu-PF spokesman Cde Rugare Gumbo yesterday said: “We are involved in round robin consultations on the status of Cde Patel.”
His son Vijay confirmed yesterday that the body initially scheduled to arrive yesterday would arrive today at 12:20pm.
Zanu-PF Harare Province has since recommended that he be declared a national hero.
Mourners, including business colleagues, family friends and Zanu-PF officials thronged the Patel homestead in Ridgeview yesterday to pay their condolences.
Senior Zanu-PF officials described Cde Patel as a simple and modest man of the people who was popular across party structures.
Zanu-PF national chairman Cde Simon Khaya Moyo said the death had robbed the nation of a principled man.
“He was a committed cadre of the revolution and a leader with an enviable political history in terms of his efforts in assisting liberation fighters in various forms to attain freedom and independence. He was a simple man, but very solid. He was not a racist by any definition,” he said.
Former Harare East legislator Cde Tirivanhu Mudariki who was part of mourners at the Patel residence yesterday.
He said Cde Patel was one of the founders of Zanu-PF Harare Province when the capital was weaned off Mashonaland East Province.
He said because of his consistency in the party, Cde Patel was able to rise to be a Politburo member.
Cde Gumbo described Cde Patel’s death as a big loss to the party.
“The party has lost a resolute, reliable and trusted cadre. Cde Patel represented that rare breed of committed Indians who not only supported, but also funded the nationalist leaders of the 1960s and 1970s,” he said.
Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu described the death of Cde Patel as “a cruel blow to the people of Zimbabwe who have lost a man who devoted his entire life to loving, caring for and helping other people, particularly the less fortunate”.
He said during his entire life, Cde Patel was passionately convinced that although the world is full of suffering, there was need for men and women who devote their entire lives fighting to overcome human suffering.
Minister Shamu said Cde Patel sacrificed his life, first to fight for the freedom and independence of his countrymen.
He said Zimbabwe had lost a patriot who fearlessly fought racial discrimination in Rhodesia and became a vital pillar in nation building after independence in 1980 preaching the gospel of love and unity among all races.
“He was humble, kind, generous and social. His life was lived completely, honestly, completely selflessly and completely patriotically.
“With his untimely death, what is moving through us his compatriots is silence, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day with him, one more word from him, one more touch for his family and friends,” Cde Shamu said.
Cde Patel is survived by three sons and seven grandchildren.
His wife passed on in 1973.
Mourners are gathered at House number 31 Anison Drive, Ridgeview, Harare.
Online Reporter