We are extremely sad to announce the passing of a very dear client of our firm on 11 May 2020, Mr Afwerki Abraha, with whom we worked following the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017.
We send our sincere condolences to his family and to his wife, Fatima, and his children, Feruza and Winta, who are in all of our thoughts.
Daniel Cooper, a solicitor at IKP, and who worked closely with the family, has written the following about Mr Abraha:
“There is a yiddish word, ‘Mensch’, which describes someone of noble character; of honour and integrity. A person marked by kindness and compassion. Afwerki was just that, a Mensch.
We met as I had the privilege to represent his family following the tragedy that befell Grenfell Tower. He and his family suffered the harrowing loss of Amal, and young Amaya; of Mohamednur and Amna, their cousin. The family was devasted by the fire. They were held together, as they had always been, by the warmth, strength and love of Afwerki.
The word ‘extraordinary’ is banded around these days but he was indeed a remarkable man. Born in Eretria, he studied in Moscow and England. He was fluent in many languages. He was a globetrotter. A voracious reader. A chemist and immersed in the sciences. In his youth, he was a freedom fighter in the war of independence from Ethiopia. In peace, he was a diplomat. He was a trailblazer. A polymath. A leader in his community.
Following the fire, I frequently met with him and Fatima, his wife, at their home and we spoke regularly on the telephone. He greeted me each time with an affectionate hug. We spoke for hour upon hour about developments, often in their beautiful garden. In my work with him, he was inquiring and challenging. He demanded the change that his family and all the others affected deserve.
He was devoted to his family, and particularly to his wife, Fatima, and his two daughters, Feruza and Winta, whom he loved and adored.
I will miss him dearly. ”