KAMPALA, Uganda — Jyotsna Ruparelia mourned her 35-year-old son, Rajiv Ruparelia, who died early Saturday in a crash in Busabala on the Munyonyo-Kajjansi spur.
“I should never have let you go in that speedy car,” she said, addressing mourners at the Hindu Crematorium in Lugogo, Kampala. “I would have stopped you.”
Among those attending the service were Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and other top government officials.
Jyotsna Ruparelia said she regretted not hearing her son when he returned home Friday. “Passing in the corridor, you said: ‘Mama! I am back.’ I am so sorry, son, I didn’t hear you. I should have come out sooner.”
She asked Rajiv to forgive the family if they had wronged him and noted she had come to realize she had created an identity for him separate from the Ruparelia family name.
“Rajiv, I am so proud of you,” she said, promising to continue his charity work and build a tower named after his daughter, Naira. “You wanted a Naira Tower for Naira and that will be our next project, Rajiv. We are going to look after Naira. So, please rest in peace. We are going to miss you, son. It’s going to be so difficult, but we have to let go.”
She also apologized for treating him like a child at times. “I am sorry if I hurt you, son. But you know mothers’ love for their children. So, obviously they are trying to straighten them.”
Rajiv’s father, Sudhir Ruparelia, thanked those who attended the farewell. “Rajiv left us far too soon for his heavenly abode at the age of 35. As a father, I carry the unimaginable pain of loss and immense pride of having to raise a son like Rajiv. What I always remember most is his vibrant spirit that lit the room, lit up gatherings and sparked inspiration in everyone he met.”
He recalled his son’s passion for rallying, saying he had once asked him to stop for his safety.
Rajiv’s wife, Naiya Khagram Ruparelia, described him as her “first real love” and someone who “would fill the room with his energy, passionately magnetic and impossible to ignore.”
Speaker Among conveyed condolences from President Yoweri Museveni and the First Lady Janet Museveni, who also contributed sh50 million. Museveni acknowledged the Ruparelia family’s contributions to Uganda’s economy.
Former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi also offered condolences, emphasizing Rajiv’s lasting impact. “Though he may no longer be with us in person, his spirit will forever live on in our hearts and the impact he created in all of us.”
