Dr. Yusuf Kodwavwalla Dawood, a distinguished surgeon who ran a popular column, ‘The Surgeon’s Diary,’ has passed on aged 94 in the United Kingdom.
The news of his death was broken by his son Jaan Yusuf on Saturday “my dad slipped away from us in the early hours of this morning. May his soul rest in peace.”
Dr. Yusuf K. Dawood amassed a sizable following over 38 years thanks to his prolific Surgeon’s Diary column on Sunday Nation. His staunch admirers have offered their condolences to his family and friends.
Health and Science journalist Joy Wanja remembers interviewing Dr. Dawood some nine years ago:
“I celebrate a doctor who ignited healing pathways with the right words. My interview with Dr. Dawood on November 4, 2014, was epic, stirring, and humbling.”
Babji Elimelech wrote on Twitter: “Dr. Yusuf Dawood used to talk about his three wives proudly. The marital wife, his career as a doctor, and of course writing”.
Consumer protection champion Stephen Mutoro also eulogized the late columnist: “Go well, you were a true doctor of the syringe and the pen. You had the best of both worlds.”
Dr. Dawood arrived in Kenya in 1961 and began his surgical career at the Aga Khan Hospital. He was born in India on September 13, 1928, to a family of five brothers and a sister. He was chosen to serve as the hospital’s executive director in 1975.
His labor, experience, and distinctive writing ability allowed his readers to engage directly with him through his writings, giving them a weekly “medical sermon.”
He was also an active Rotarian who served as president of all Rotary clubs in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ethiopia at one point.
In one of his writings, Dr. Dawood admitted to having four wives: Marie Dawood, Rotary, surgery, and writing. In contrast, he continued, the order in which he named the “four wives” in his reply almost got him into trouble with Marie.
“Until I went home and discovered to my dismay, that Marie had watched the live interview, I believed I had been smart in the response. She confronted me when she saw me at the door. “I do not like your pecking order, but I don’t mind being one of your four wives because the other three are inanimate.”
