Andrea Gada’s parents receive letter from PM as hopes rise for funeral visa
By Staff Reporter
UNITED KINGDOM – Its now looking more likely that the Zimbabwe based grandparents of Andrea Gada, a five-year-old girl killed in a car accident in the United Kingdom, will now be granted a visa to attend her funeral.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has sent his personal condolences to Wellington and Charity Gada, whose daughter Andrea died in Eastbourne before Christmas. Cameroon said he knew “the struggle of losing a child first-hand”.
Andrea’s funeral has been delayed because her grandparents and an aunt in Zimbabwe have twice been refused temporary visas to visit the UK since her death.
Nehanda Radio understands the family has now been advised by the Home Office that any fresh application would be considered on its merits.
In his letter to the couple, received on Tuesday, Cameron wrote: “I was very sorry to learn of the tragic loss of your daughter, Andrea, in a road traffic accident. I know the struggle of losing a child first-hand and hope that, in time, you find strength in the memory of the happier times you shared with Andrea.
“I have asked the home secretary to look into the issue of your family members’ applications for visas and provide a full response to your letter. You and your family are in my and Samantha’s thoughts and prayers and I wish you well for the future,” the British PM wrote.
According to a Guardian newspaper report “Mrs Gada said her father, Stanley Bwanya, 65, a retired street trader, her mother, Grace, and sister, Monalisa Faith, 21, a hairdresser, who live near Harare, had been called for interviews at the British embassy in Zimbabwe, which they attended on Tuesday morning.”
Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne, Stephen Lloyd, has offered to act as personal guarantor to ensure the family does not abscond and said he was hopeful visas would now be granted.
“I am cautiously optimistic. There seems to have been some movement. What the family got from the Home Office was an email asking their family to reapply. This tells me there is a window. I have sat down and helped the family with the submission,” he said.
