Khoja Nasser Noormohamed Dispensary

Preface

This article, contributed by Abdulrazak Fazal, offers a compelling narrative of the Khoja Nasser Noormohamed Dispensary—an enduring symbol of the Khoja community’s charitable legacy in Zanzibar. Originally established in memory of Nasser Noormohamed’s son, the dispensary served as a vital healthcare centre for both Khoja Ithna’ashri and Ismaili communities. Through the author’s personal recollections and historical insight, the article highlights not only the building’s architectural and cultural significance but also the lives it touched across generations.

Historical and Architectural Significance

Alighting from the ship and landing on Zanzibar, there emerges the imposing dispensary building and the past comes flooding back. In particular for me, the building evokes a poignant memory of going there every Sunday morning to visit my aunt who was bedridden and resided on its ground floor.

One of Zanzibar's main attractions in Stone Town is this old Khoja dispensary, now transformed into a ‘Cultural Centre’. To us old timers, it will always remain the ‘Khoja Nasser Noormohamed Dispensary’. It was a huge complex and a considerable portion (a small part of its ground floor and its two storeys) was allotted to tenants, the rental proceeds from which were used for running the dispensary. The two floors were occupied by Husain Raheem, Jaffer Raheem, Fazal Nasser Mawji and Yusuf Hasam Nasser. Incidentally my aunt, Mrs. Fatmabai Jaffer Ali Dungersi (Fatuma Dada), resided on the ground floor. The ‘Cultural Centre’ photograph is very much in vogue today and reproduced in almost every tourist booklet, brochure or guide.

The building, located in one corner at the far end of a Malindi lane, and on the Forodhani/harbour highway, was built according to the historian Riadh Al Busaidi by Sayyid Abdalla bin Jaad bin Mubarak Al Busaidi. Later, it was bought and extended by Khoja Tharia Topan (a prominent Khoja Ismaili), who died before its completion in 1899. The Trustees of Tharia Topan parted with its ownership in 1901 by selling it to the Trustees of Khoja Nasser Noormohamed Kasmani who earlier had been converted to the Ithnashri Sect but had also passed away before the deal was finalised. The building with its open roof terrace and ornate balconies and facade stood majestically in a row of other architectural masterpieces like the Sultan’s Palace (now People's Palace) and Beit Al Ajaib along Forodhani (the Sea Front). It was believed that the building was specifically built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.

Sadly, Nasser Noormohamed’s young son had died of a severe illness, and in his memory, this building was donated as a dispensary to the Khojas. The building thus came to be known as ‘Khoja Nasser Noormohamed Dispensary’ and both the Khoja Sects, Ithnashris as well as Ismailis, had access to it. However, Nasser Noormohamed, being an Ithnashri, the dispensary was under the trusteeship of Kuwwat and Hujjat Jamaats and patronised by the Ithnashries who frequented it for treatment. Those who had served there at one time or another were Doctors Gulamhusain, Awara, Raza Khakoo, Oza and some others. Even Doctors Goradia, Mehta and Patel had worked there before establishing their own clinics.