An honest man in Pretoria
The Herald is always on the lookout for good news stories and this instalment is brought to you all the way from Pretoria.
Afrikaans singer Marissa West performed at aN open mic event in Pretoria on Wednesday evening.
After the show she forgot her wallet on the roof of her car and drove home.
Most South Africans know the absolute pain involved in a lost wallet; replacing your bank cards, your ID and your driver’s license.
West was no exception to the rule. But before she could start on her miserable journey to new cards, ID and driver’s license, her phone started ringing.
Patrick Makaleng, a newspaper deliveryman, who works for a well-known Pretoria daily newspaper, had found her wallet in a street in Capitol Park.
He looked inside for a contact number but none was to be found.
This did not deter Patrick in his mission to return the wallet.
Makaleng’s next step was to walk to Intec College in Pretoria (West’s student card led him there).
At the college he informed staff of his mission and they phoned Marissa West.
Armed with her address, the intrepid deliveryman drove the 20km to West’s house in order to return the wallet.
Her life partner, Stefan Strydom met Makaleng at the house and took possession of West’s wallet. Strydom rewarded the honest deliveryman with a cash gift and the two hugged it out and there were smiles all around.
“Patrick Makaleng does not understand how much his honesty meant for us. Not only would Marissa have lost all her cards and money, but her study material was on a flash drive in the wallet. We are thankful for this decent gentleman’s kind behaviour and wish there was more we could do to thank him,” Strydom told the Herald.
