Former Director of the Department of Public Information (DPI) and Head of Communications for the Opposition, Imran Khan died this morning in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Liliendaal Infectious Disease Hospital almost a week after he was rushed there.
Khan, who was well known in the local media landscape and has been prominent on the political front in the last few years as he was a senior member of the Alliance for Change, tested positive for the virus on September 15th.
On September 24th from his hospital bed he asked for prayers as he said he could not fight alone.
“By the grace and strength of God I am still fighting this but it is getting lonely. I need more help and support. Please help me fight more. I can’t do this alone. Thank you,” he posted.
But the following day (September 25th) he was in a more upbeat mood as he posted that he was doing much better.
“Thank you for all your love, prayers, messages of encouragement and support. I am overwhelmed beyond explanation and I am in excellent spirits. Difficult to respond individually to everyone but in time I will.
Please be assured that I am fighting and there is no giving up.
One love!”, was what he posted.
Sources say that Khan had not taken a COVID-19 vaccine.
Stabroek News understands that Khan’s wife, attorney-at-law Tammy Khan, is also stricken with the virus and was in the COVID ICU as well but has since been released.
Khan’s funeral will be held tomorrow, Wednesday September 29. The viewing will take place at his mother’s residence at Lot 117 A Section E, Vergenoegen, West Coast Demerara from 11 am to 2 pm. Janazaah will be observed at 2 pm at his mother’s residence and then to the Vergenoegen Burial Ground where burial will take place.
Before returning to Guyana in 2015 to work, Khan lived in Antigua where he worked in the public relations department of the West Indies Cricket Board.
Khan’s death is one of the over 140 that have occurred for the month of September, the deadliest month since COVID hit Guyana in March 2020. Infection rates have also been extremely high for this month with some 5700 new infections.
Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon issued the following statement this morning:
It is with a heavy heart that I write on my own behalf and that of the APNU-AFC coalition to announce the untimely death of our friend and colleague Imran Khan who served as Communications Director in the office of the Leader of the Opposition up to today.
To his wife, Tamara, and other family members we offer our deepest condolences and regret. When we read his upbeat note on Sunday asking for a fruit salad and praising coconut water we assumed he had passed the worst and was well on the way to recovery. The suddenness of his death some hours later attributed to acute respiratory failure has been a terrible shock to us all.
Imran was a passionate member of the coalition at the helm of public information. He was a Guyanese who believed that all Guyanese deserved a just and good life and used all his efforts to ensure that access to information underpinned that right. When he returned from his life in Antigua to join the coalition through the AFC he came with eagerness and an energy that was exemplary.
Our grief is profound. Guyana has lost a true son.
The AFC issued the following statement:
Alliance For Change mourns the passing of Imran Khan
It is with deep sadness and tremendous pain that the Alliance For Change regrets the passing of one of its finest members Imran Khan.
Imran was committed member of the AFC and later the APNU+AFC coalition who epitomized some exceptional qualities – youth, commitment, enthusiasm and resistance.
Guyana was everything to Imran Khan and prior to the 2015 he remigrated from Antigua to “contribute to the struggle” as he would often say. He joined the Alliance For Change and brought his exceptional knowledge of the media and public relations environment to the day-to-day operations of our small Party allowing us to “bat above our league”. His unmatched creativity, knowledge of the digital media environment and excellent writing skills were seen in two election campaigns and while he managed the Department of Public Information which he rebranded and reorganized in 2015 as its’ Director of Public Information.
Most importantly Imran loved the simple things in life, gaffing with ordinary citizens wherever he encountered them and was a true friend many. His passing is a tragic loss of monumental proportions to his AFC family. The Alliance For Changes expresses sincere condolences to his family and friends.
