Pravin Gordhan: ‘My dad was a hero to his country and family’ [VIDEO]

Anti-apartheid struggle veteran Pravin Gordhan’s daughter, Priyesha, said the family are shattered by his death.

Gordhan died in hospital in the early hours of Friday morning following a short battle with cancer.

Watch Priyesha speaking about her father Pravin Gordhan

Grief

An emotional Priyesha told Newzroom Afrika, the family is heartbroken by Gordhan’s passing.

“There are five stages of grief, and I think we are still very firmly in denial. This happened very quickly. My dad was a hero to the country, but he was a hero to his family, and he was our anchor. So finding a new reality without him is going to be very difficult.

“As a father, he was my best friend. We were incredibly close to my mother, that’s her soul mate, that’s her comrade, that’s her life partner. Their relationship has gone through so many decades, through his detention torture and activism. That partnership and that fortitude comes from them being activists together and being under so much pressure,” Priyesha said.

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Private person

Priyesha said Gordhan was a “deeply private person,” a paternal figure who oozed kindness.

“He would be present in every facet and every aspect of my life. He and I have a great relationship. We enjoy watching movies together. He loved to tease me that I was on my phone too much, like any parent would, that I was scrolling on Instagram too much, and I needed to be more focused on the news.

“He was deeply private, but he genuinely loved his family so much. We live very humble, very quiet lives, and that’s a testament to who he was and that’s how we will continue to live, Priyesha said.

Gordhan will receive an official state funeral on Thursday, 19 September in Durban, before a private cremation ceremony in line with his Hindu beliefs.

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