Silent hero makes it his job to look after the people of the city
People treat him like a criminal as he walks in the streets with his rubbish filled trolley.
POLOKWANE – He is normally seen looking through the plastic bags people leave on the pavement for rubbish collectors, for something to eat or to sell. But don’t be mistaken, Charles is not just a street rubbish collector but a crime vigilante of note.
“I look after the people of the city. They do not know me and they probably never will, but it is my job to look after the people who do not see the things I see,” he tells Review.
He says being homeless, he wanders the streets of the city and hears of some of the plans people make to rob others and he believes it is up to him to report the things he hears to Community Policing Forums(CPF) in the city.
He says he walks through the streets watching people dump their rubbish and they don’t realise they are giving away information to criminals.
He says not even the criminals notice him, they don’t think he is someone who would report them to the police.
“While digging through people’s rubbish, I would find something such as a box from a new TV and rip it apart because I know criminals scout the area and if they find that box, they know there is a TV in a house nearby that they can steal,” Charles explains.
He says people look at him strangely when he walks around in his dirty clothes full of holes, they think he is looking for something to steal, but he doesn’t mind.
“I look after them and they do not need to know me and they do not need to like me. I will keep on doing what I do because I know what will happen to them if they lose everything as I did and I do not want that to happen. People who work hard must keep the things they pay for because they earned it.
“Those who steal must realise that they need to work for things. We all need to work together to make the lives of the people around us better,” says Charles.
