FOUR days after he was reported missing, the body of retired Cape Town teacher, Dhanan Naidoo, 66, was found on a path in the Newlands Forest, where he regularly hiked to keep fit.
Naidoo, of Kenwyn, formerly from Tongaat, turned 66 last Friday.
He had left home on Saturday for a hike when he suffered a heart attack. The body of the father of two was only found by rescue teams on Wednesday.
“On Friday he celebrated his birthday with his family with dinner at home. He was fit and enjoyed walking around the mountain regularly. On Saturday when he did not return home, we reported him missing and began searching. We were heartbroken when his body was found on Wednesday,” said Reena Singh, a close friend of Naidoo’s.
“The medical report indicated that he died from a heart attack that took place over a short three-minute period. He was found in a good condition with a slight smile on his face. It is likely that he knelt down to rest and slowly touched the ground around 5pm on Saturday. There was no bodily harm.
“We are at peace knowing that he left this world doing what he loved, which was walking at the mountain. The place he was found was a beautiful lookout point by a tree, just 10 metres off the main contour path in Newlands Forest,” said Singh.
She said the family was grateful for the support from roleplayers and volunteers.
“We thank all the volunteers and search and rescue teams for assisting us. We express immense respect and gratitude to everyone who volunteered to bring Dhanan home. We thank our family, friends, Dhanan's colleagues from the teaching and education fraternity, members of police, search and rescue teams and members of the public that volunteered to help in the search,” Singh added.
Logie Naidoo, an activist and former deputy mayor of Durban, said Naidoo was a simple, faithful, sincere and patriotic South African who served humanity.
“He embraced all the values of a good citizen, placing service above self. Our friendship goes back over 55 years when we played football in the park, attended the Tongaat Primary School where his late dad EV Naidoo was the principal. We graduated from the Tongaat High School, becoming political activists in our teenage years and reigniting our friendship in CapeTown years later.
“Dhanan was a consummate political activist, dedicating himself in the work of mass mobilisation of communities against the apartheid system. He strongly believed in the creation of a non-racial, non-sexist free, and democratic society.
"In those dark days of racism, Dhanan was brave enough to participate in the activities of the Natal Indian Congress, United Democratic Front and other political activities. As many of us were not mobile during that era, Dhanan drove us in all of our endeavours. He was a leading activist in our movement, erudite but grounded with the masses."
He said Naidoo entered education, following in his father's footsteps and turning out to be a dedicated teacher.
"His commitment to political change flowed into his work as an educator, realising the vision of Nelson Mandela that education was the key to unlocking the potential of all our young minds.
"Dhanan immersed himself in the Child Welfare Society, Tongaat Civic Association, Tongaat Youth Club, Tongaat Students Organisation and also the activities of the Student Representative Council at University of Durban-Westville. He was indeed a dedicated cadre of our movement.
"Dhanan always spoke about selfless service in the political arena and fused it with his religious beliefs that service to humankind was service to God,” he said.
Naidoo will be laid to rest on November 23.