Philanthropist Dhanji Liladhar Parmar, who made President Jomo Kenyatta's coats, is dead.
News of his demise was made public by his daughter Simran Parmar, who said the family was shocked.
“He was full of life yesterday (Sunday). We had dinner together and he was fine. This morning (Monday), he woke up early as usual but died a few minutes later. It is very painful for the family,” said Simran.
She described Parmar as a loving father, who, despite his old age, always checked on his family and remained active.
His nephew Rakesh Prenji said Mr Parmar, 85, collapsed in their home opposite the Nakuru State Lodge and was taken to hospital. He was pronounced dead on arrival.
“He woke up at around 7am and collapsed while having a shower. Doctors told us that he suffered a heart attack,” said Prenji.
In his message of condolence to the family, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui described Parmar as a true patriot, who was committed to serving the less privileged through his charity work.
Utmost patriotism
“Mzee Parmar displayed utmost patriotism and diligence. He will particularly be remembered for his compassion to the poor through the Lion’s Club and attendance of all national holiday celebrations even in later years when his health was failing,” said Mr Kinyanjui.
Parmar rose to fame in the late 1960s when he was in his early 20s after he made President Jomo Kenyatta a leather jacket at his father’s shop, then located on Nakuru’s Kenyatta Avenue.
The President, being his client, made him a household name, making senior Government officials in successive regimes to seek his services.
Other public figures who admired the President’s jacket and sought his services included former Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner Isaiah Mathenge, Cabinet Minister Mbiyu Koinange and provincial engineer Kim Gatende. The jacket would become something of a weekend political uniform in Central Kenya.
The Kenyan of Asian descent also received recognition from former President Daniel arap Moi, who awarded him a Head of State Commendation in 1995 and let him become a frequent visitor to State House.
The then Nakuru District Commissioner had also appointed him to the public holidays celebrations committee as treasurer, a post he held during regimes of former presidents Kenyatta and Moi.
His philanthropic work started after watching and listening to the plight of Nyakinyua dancers, a group of women who used to entertain Mzee Kenyatta whenever he was in Nakuru.
He assisted their families through organisations such as the Nakuru Lions Club, the Association of the Physically Disabled, the Hindu Council, the Indian Association, Arap Moi Children’s Home and Hill Special School in Nakuru Town.
He will also be remembered for humanitarian assistance he offered to thousands of Asians expelled from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin, and hundreds of families displaced in the 2007-2008 post-election violence.
