Lost cellphone saga has a happy ending thanks to to honest Thula

The common phrase ‘finders keepers, losers weepers’ was definitely not the case when a lost cell phone was returned to its rightful owner in Scottburgh.

Local, Peter Bartie, was on his way back from the beach with his dog recently when he misplaced one of his most treasured items, his cell phone.

“I’m constantly on the phone and receive many calls a day, not just for work but from many friends and family too,” explained Mr Bartie.

He said that when he takes his dog to the beach, he carries a water bowl for it. Mr Bartie noted that he had a bad habit of leaving his cell phone either on the roof of his vehicle or on the windscreen where the wipers lay whilst he ensured the dog had water.

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“I must have forgotten the cell phone by the wipers this time, and once I recollected what had happened later that day, I realised that when I drove past the Blue Marlin Hotel in Scottburgh, it must have fallen off there. “When I got home, I asked a neighbour to call my phone, but he had no airtime,” he said.

To Mr Bartie’s surprise sometime later one of his friends told him that someone had found his cell phone and sent out a WhatsApp message to the contacts on the phone with the following message: “Hello, the owner of this phone lost it. Kindly advise him that he must contact Thula Ndlovu on this number to arrange collection.”

“I was so excited when I saw that message and couldn’t believe that it had not been stolen, but was being kept safely for me,” said Mr Bartie.

After calming down from the excitement, and buying his neighbour some airtime to call Mr Ndlovu, a date and time were arranged for the handover.

Upon meeting Mr Ndlovu, Mr Bartie was so thankful and appreciative that he just couldn’t resist a good ol’ hug to show his gratitude.

The cell phone had a little crack in it from the fall but was still in perfectly good working order.

He spoke to Mr Ndlovu and discovered that he was new to the area and had just begun working at Umdoni Municipality in January of this year.

“I am the internal audit manager for Umdoni and with my title and the way I was brought up, I chose to champion ethics in terms of returning Mr Bartie’s phone,” said Mr Ndlovu.

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It transpired that on the day Mr Bartie lost his cell phone, Mr Ndlovu had just exited the Blue Marlin and noticed it lying on the ground near the road, but there was no one else around to ask if it belonged to them.

“I had a good upbringing and was taught not to steal. Returning someone’s treasured belonging made me feel good on the inside too,” explained Mr Ndlovu.

Mr Bartie remarked that it was very rare to encounter such good Samaritans these days and hopes that more people learn from the actions of Mr Ndlovu.

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