Dad of seven could only have three of his children at his funeral

The proud city councillor who was 'liked by everyone' had died with coronavirus.

The family of a father-of-seven who died with coronavirus were only allowed to have five people attend his funeral in Wales.

Retired restaurant owner and proud city councillor Mozadul Hussain, 63, died after more than two weeks in hospital. The respected former Lib Dem councillor is survived by his children Shalinah, 40, Amina, 37, Kamal, 34, Malek, 31, Anisha, 23, Rizwan, 12, and Nafeesa, 10.

But only five family members were allowed at the funeral on April 23, the day after he died in Royal Gwent Hospital.

Kamal said: ‘It was difficult. If it wasn’t for coronavirus thousands of people would have been there.’

The family opted to have Kamal, Malek and Rizwan, as well as a cousin and brother in law attend – along with an imam from the mosque. 

Mr Hussain, from Newport, South Wales, died in one of the country’s worst hotspots for Covid-19, after being admitted to hospital on April 6.

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He was a well-known businessman, owning a number of eateries before giving up his restaurants to focus on his work as a Newport city councillor.

Son Kamal said: ‘He was liked by everyone, he left a good impression with anyone he spoke to and was always sharing his knowledge to family and friends.

‘He suffered from bad asthma; he was having problems with his lungs and finding it hard to breathe. He’d stopped working, and then he deteriorated and was taken to hospital.’

Kamal added: ‘He was a family orientated man, but he also had a lot of time for his community and he dedicated time to his charities.

‘He had a lot of businesses, but he used to make sure he had enough time to do charity work and help youngsters.’

‘He came from a small village in Bangladesh – it was a tight-knit community where everyone looks after each other.

‘When he came to Britain, he appreciated his life had changed and he was quite fortunate.

‘He was the first elected Bangladeshi city councillor in Newport – it made him very proud.

‘It’s something I’m very proud of.’

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