Cape Town - A taxi driver in Ghana has been praised for his honesty after returning to the rightful owner 8 400 Ghanaian cedis (US$1 100 or R17 860) that he found in the back of his car, BBC Pidgin reports.
An emotional video of Isaac Ackon giving back the money to a fishmonger has been shared on social media.
Neighbours join the fishmonger in hugging the taxi driver and they can be seen thanking him for the honesty he showed the elderly woman who, they said, had been unable to sleep.
Taxi Driver Returned ¢8,
— Sir Alby (@Itz_Kwakwa) May 11, 2022
000 to Passenger - The Man the woman is hugging is a Taxi driver and the women is a fish seller at Mallam Atta Market in Accra. pic.twitter.com/S0AcFr4jme
Other Ghanaians, including Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, were also moved.
Dr Bawumia gave Mr Ackon $2 600 as a reward.
Musician KiDi also gave the driver $660.
Meanwhile, former captain of the national football team, Asamoah Gyan requested to meet Mr Ackon.
The driver said he returned the money because of his Christian values. He handed it back to the fishmonger after praying in church, local media reported on Thursday.
On that Easter Saturday, after ending another day, he was checking through his car when he found a cloth tied over something. The cloth was dirty, like a rag. It smelled of fish. “I wanted to throw it away,” he told African news outlet Fourth Estate.
“But restrained by a little curiosity, he unwrapped it and found several notes. It was money. “I didn’t count the money,” and neither did he count himself lucky.
He knew he had to return the money. He knew it must have belonged to the woman he picked up at Malata Market. He said he couldn’t have returned the money immediately. It was already late, the report said.
On Easter Sunday, after worshipping at his church, The Church of Pentecost, he drove to Teshie and reunited a weeping trader with her money, The Fourth Estate reported.
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