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Car guard returns R3500

When a Middelburg resident lost his wallet, with over R3500 in it, he thought he had lost it for good. But an honest car guard with a desire to give back to the people, changed the man's life, when five days later, he handed everything over, just like that.

Joseph Msiza (39), is a Doornkop resident who rises before the sun every morning, to work as a car guard at the Imbali Shopping Centre.

He stands in the blistering sun every day, to earn a pittance, and R3500 in cash, lying on the floor could make the world’s difference in his life.

One early Monday morning, Joseph arrived at work to find a wallet full of cash, credit cards, bank cards and valuable documentation lying in the parking lot. He picked it up, looked inside, slipped it in his pocket and took it home.

But not for keeps.

Also read: Dankie Middelburg! Dorp gee binne ure geld vir begrafnis

Joseph had seen, by looking at the identity documentation inside, that the wallet belonged to a man who visit’s the Centre every now and then.
When the wallet’s owner returned five days later, Joseph returned the man’s missing possessions.

The owners of Perfect Water, a store at the Imbali Centre, Mr and Ms Verwey, heard about the incident via a customer.
Ms Marietjie Verwey, was moved by Joseph’s honesty so much, that she decided to call www.mobserver.co.za.

Ms Verwey explained how Joseph never breathed a word about the incident, but a friend of the wallet’s owner shared the story with them.
“It is just so encouraging to know that we have such an honest and reliable man working at the Centre.” Verwey said.

Also read: Gee jou lewe sonder die belofte van roem of geld

“He has been working here for well over two years, every day – including public holidays, and he serves the customers with a smile.”
Ms Verwey added that the owner of the wallet was so moved by Joseph’s honesty, that he offered him a job.

In an interview with www.mobserver.co.za, Joseph’s answer to what made his decide to return the wallet, was that he enjoyed the people.
“The people like me and I like the people, they make my life easier and that is why I want to give back to society.”

For his act of kindness, Joseph was nominated as resident of the week. He has been awarded a voucher to spend at Hobo’s Café, where he can reward himself with a good meal.

At Caxton, every story is written by humans. We use AI only to perform quality checks - never to generate the news. Happy reading!

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Sjani Campher

Sjani has been working as a community journalist and photographer at the Middelburg Observer since 2018, during which she has been responsible for the content creation for both digital and print, as well as maintaining the publication's online platforms. She is a member of the Forum for Community Journalists, and focuses on fields including hard news, investigative reporting, human interest, columns and sports.
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