Honest hero and Herald help get festino's ID, wallet returned

[caption id="attachment_39886" align="alignright" width="405"] HELPING OUT: A man known only as Mkhululi stands at the top of High Street in Grahamstown with a placard alerting Philippa Irvine that he had found her wallet and ID book. Picture: GILLIAN McAINSH[/caption]

AN out-of-the-ordinary random act of kindness by a Grahamstown man saw a festival-goer's holiday saved when her lost wallet and identity book were safely returned to her.

The man, known only as Mkhululi, had passersby abuzz, when he stood at one of Grahamstown's busiest intersections yesterday morning with a placard around his neck which read: "Philippa Margaret Irvine I have your wallet and ID."

He held the ID in one of his hands.

Mkhululi was spotted standing patiently at the top of High Street, where thousands of people walked to and from the stalls and shows at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival.

LaFemme editor Gillian McAinsh, who attended the festival, snapped a picture of Mkhululi, who said he had found Irvine's belongings in the gutter and wanted to return them to her, a complete stranger.

The photo was later posted on The Herald's official Facebook page, and within minutes, the news spread to Irvine, a lecturer at Rhodes University, who gratefully collected her wallet and ID. Numerous attempts to reach Irvine for comment yesterday were unsuccessful. Mkhululi's selflessness was applauded by hundreds of The Herald readers on Facebook.

Donald Tuck said: "Give that man a Bells, plus a reward for his good work."

Mzukisi Sakata said his gesture showed there were still good people in South Africa. "May God bless you, Mkhululi," he wrote. Azile Salvatore Maqutyana said: "This is what I call ubuntu." - Kathryn Kimberley