Death of beloved Morningside doctor leaves community shaken

WELL-KNOWN and much respected Morningside doctor, Asif Suleman has died.

In a post on Facebook today, councillor Ernest Smith said Dr Suleman had passed away this morning after suffering a heart attack.

“This comes as a large shock for all the community of Morningside to have lost such a well-liked and respected member of the community whose presence will leave a void we cannot fill,” wrote Smith

Former councillor Martin Meyer said the news of Dr Suleman’s death had left the community shaken.

“Asif was not a keyboard warrior, but a man that got actively involved in tackling our area’s problems. He ran is two practices, one in T0ongaat for the needy, and was always working, always laughing and always friendly. His Morningside practice was a progressive one and he was widely known for having one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly practices in Durban.

“His passing leaves a massive hole in our community but I know Morningside will honour him by following in his footsteps and being active participants in solving our community’s problem. I will miss our chats about politics, religion and everything in between.”

Co-founders of Save Our Berea Cheryl Johnson and Kevin Dunkley said they were deeply saddened to hear of Dr Suleman’s death.

“Asif was one of Save Our Berea’s staunchest supporters. He was always the first to respond to our Facebook posts with gentle criticism at times, but mostly with words of insight encouragement and solidarity. He was one of a kind, playful, with a quirky sense of humour  that at times deflected the serious side of his character. Always proudly his own man, he once said that he was, “truly blessed with a strength of character, moral fibre, integrity and value systems that allows me to declare that I represent no one, no group, no political party and carry no personal agenda. I am also a fearless individual when it comes to standing up for truth and justice. I will call out right from wrong without fear or favour and offer constructive criticism, hopefully without any personal prejudice or bias.”

We agree. The Berea community will be the poorer for his passing. He will be missed.”

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