Celebrated surgeon and Sunday Nation columnist Yusuf Dawood dies in UK at 94

Dr Yusuf Kodwavwalla Dawood, a well-known surgeon and author, died in the United Kingdom at 94.

According to the surgeon’s son, Jaan Yusuf, who broke the news about his father’s death, Dawood died on Saturday morning.

“My dad slipped away from us in the early hours of this morning. May his soul rest in peace,” Jaan said.

His death comes about four after his retirement from his lustrous career and relocation to England with his wife and joined his two children who live in the UK

“We love Kenya, but we need to be with our children so that they can take care of us. We are getting old,” Dawood said in an interview.

Before departing to the UK, Dawood had lived in the country for 57 years, and in that span, he gained a huge following through his weekly column, "Surgeon’s Diary," which was published for 38 years on a local daily.

He also authored several books, including Eye of the Storm, One Life Too Many, Return to Paradise, and Behind the Mask, among others, and only stopped writing when he was 90 years old because of rheumatism.

Dawood specialised in breast surgery, and he performed surgeries until he was 86 years old.

He was also a committed member of Rotary and rose to become the president of all Rotary Clubs in East Africa.

Yusuf Dawood was born on September 13, 1928 in Bantwa, India to Dawood and Rahima Moosa before he relocated to Kenya in 1961.