Saving a marriage all in a day's work for Cape Town bus driver

A bus driver has been hailed as a hero for reuniting an accidentally dropped purse containing a diamond wedding ring with its owner – with a bit of help from a passenger and Facebook.

“I saved the marriage‚” quipped MyCiTi bus driver Siphelo Maqubela.

Maqubela was on duty‚ driving from Hout Bay along Sea Point Main Road in Cape Town when he noticed a purse on the ground next to a parked car. Sharon Russak had accidentally dropped it – without noticing - while getting out of her car on June 11.

He decided to stop the bus and pick it up. “I didn’t open the purse immediately. I continued with my route. When I eventually opened the purse and saw the jewellery‚ I actually became scared. I knew I had to return it to the owner‚” he said.

“I don’t have Facebook so I asked one of my passengers to try and find Sharon on Facebook using her name from the ID. The passenger then messaged her via Facebook to let her know that I found her purse and to give her my cell number.”

Russak got the message. “After my appointment‚ I saw a Facebook message to please contact someone with regard to my purse. At first I thought maybe I was somehow pick-pocketed because how could a bus driver have my purse?” she said.

Steve‚ her husband‚ arranged to meet Maqubela at a bus stop along his route in Camps Bay.

“He returned the full contents of my purse but most importantly my diamond wedding ring‚ another ring and valuable earrings‚ which are of sentimental value to me. Siphelo‚ thank you‚ thank you and bless you for your honesty.” She said the good deed had restored her faith in humanity.

Mayoral Committee Member for the Transport and Urban Development Authority‚ councillor Brett Herron‚ handed a certificate of gratitude to Maqubela on Wednesday as a token of appreciation for him being an “outstanding ambassador” for the bus service.

Russak said her husband was initially upset to hear she had lost her purse and wedding ring. Maqubela quipped that he had‚ indeed‚ “saved the marriage.” The couple have been married for 23 years.

Maqubela‚ a father of two‚ said in a statement issued by the city on Friday: “I like to help people. I always ensure that I return people’s belongings to them and that is what we are taught here at MyCiTi. I love my job because I love driving. Our passengers need to … know they can trust us.”