Nairobi matatu conductor who returned Sh30k to passenger speaks out
Honesty is the best policy. A matatu conductor’s act of returning money left in his vehicle by a passenger has just proved as much.
Daniel Mwaura’s act of returning money left by a customer in his vehicle on Friday morning went viral online. He operates on the Gachie – city centre route.
Nairobi News hunted him down to find out the details of his heart moving gesture.
The father of one, who is expecting his second child, had just dropped off passengers in the city centre on Friday morning when he spotted a “fat” wallet left on one of the seats by a passenger.
Inside the wallet was Sh30, 000.
“My first reaction was that the owner must have been devastated and so I informed my employer and deposited the wallet with only Sh300 at the office, telling them to notify me if anyone comes to claim the it,” Mwaura told Nairobi News.
A day after he had surrendered the wallet, he was called from the office and told that the owner of the wallet had showed up.
SAME PERSON
“I told Stanley (the owner of the wallet) to cross over to our fire station stage (on Tom Mboya Street) where I had just arrived. When we met I could see he was the same person whose photo was on the ID.
“I asked him what else was in his wallet and when he gave me the exact amount as Sh30, 000, I surrendered the money that I had been carrying around just in case the owner claims it,” Mwaura narrated.
Stanley reportedly explained to Mwaura that the money was meant for his sick child’s hospital bill.
“He asked me what he could give me in return but I told him to first deal with his sick child and we shall meet later,” Mwaura told Nairobi News.
Raised by a single mum who was selling uji at Machakos country bus station, Mwaura’s life shaped him towards honesty.
“I believe that one should do to others what he expects them to do to him and even if I had pocketed that money, Sh30,000 could not have ended all my problems.
‘CLEAN MONEY’
“Even if the amount could have been more, I would still have surrendered it because I believe in earning clean money,” he said.
Mwaura dropped out of Kenya Polytechnic in 2011 while pursuing an Information Technology (IT) course. He settled for menial jobs in the construction sector before getting employed in the matatu industry in 2013.
He has only had one boss, Francis Kamau of Ganaki Sacco since he started working in the industry.
Ganaki Sacco’s management has lauded Mwaura’s honesty and expressed confidence in all their matatu crews.