When petrol attendant Nkosikho Mbele assisted customer, Monet van Deventer with a mere R100 he had no idea that his one act of kindness would return tenfold as a half a million rand.
The 28-year-old who inspired many South African’s to dig deep into their pockets towards his crowd fund had no idea that his benevolence would soon turn him into a national treasure.
READ MORE: R440 000 and counting for petrol attendant
In addition to the almost half a million rand he received from his crowd fund, he also received R500 000 from Shell to donate to a charity of his choice.
While messages of congratulations and well wishes have poured in for the good samaritan, many social media users raised concerns about Nkosikho possibly being cheated out of his good will.
Taking to Twitter, Shell South Africa’s chairman Hloniphisizwe Mtolo, thanked the hero petrol attendant by donating R500k to a charity of his choice as well as flying him to Zanzibar as a recipient at the Shell Excellence awards in 2020.
But tweeps weren’t impressed, stating that the money could’ve been donated directly to him.
“Unfortunate really @shell you have missed an incredible opportunity here - completely missed & messed it up. This is what happens when people aren’t at the heart of what you do,” a user tweeted.
Speaking to Drum, Nkosikho explained he was happy with all that has been given to him.
“I am happy that my efforts of helping others are being recognized and passed on to others who also need it the most.”
He added that he was extremely grateful towards the entire nation.
“I didn’t expect any of this for real, I was just helping someone, and the rest was God’s doing.”
He also spoke about the money that was given directly to him from the Backabuddy crowd fund and his decision to not have it transferred to him in cash.
“I cannot be in possession of such a huge amount of money in my bank account, and can you imagine what people would do to me or my family?”
“I asked BackaBuddy to make special provisions of the money, for my two children instead.”
Speaking to DRUM, BackaBuddy Financial Manager and Chief Operations Officer Catherine Du Plooy explained that the funds raised will be administered by BackaBuddy then transferred for his children’s education.
“He is afraid everyone knows he has half a million rand to his name and how this could make both him and his family a target,” Du Plooy said.
“He specifically requested that we [BackaBuddy] look after it for him while he decides what he wants to do with it because he honestly feels really overwhelmed.”
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