Satish Dhupelia, the South African great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, succumbed to Covid-19 complications here on Sunday

Johannesburg: Satish Dhupelia, the South African great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, succumbed to Covid-19 complications here on Sunday, three days after his 66th birthday, a family member said.

Dhupelia’s sister Uma Dhupelia-Mesthrie confirmed that her brother had died of Covid-19 related complications after he contracted the disease in hospital where he had been under treatment for a month due to pneumonia.

Satish Dhupelia

"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 Dhupelia

Besides Uma, Dhupelia leaves back another sister, Kirti Menon, who lives in Johannesburg, where she is active in various projects honouring the memory of Gandhi.

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 after spending two decades.