Johannesburg – Wiseman Ndabezitha’s blessings continue to multiply as Nedbank promised to match the donations he would have received by the end of Thursday.
It’s believed that Ndabezitha had already received about R15 000 in donations from South Africans who had seen a video in which a motorist humiliated him, recorded their exchange, and put it on social media.
In the video, Ndabezitha, an attendant at a Hilton BP petrol station, can be seen approaching the motorist after filling up his car and accepting the money with both hands as a sign of respect.
Ndabezitha seems perplexed when he realises he has been handed R20 in two R10 notes though he put in R210 worth of petrol.
Looking at Ndabezitha’s confused face, the motorist in the video purports that he had requested “two tens” (as in 2 x R10), instead of the R210 Ndabezitha had put in.
During their exchange, a laugh can also be heard in the background.
Although the incident happened in January, Ndabezitha recently came across the clip and put it on his social media account to warn other petrol attendants not to fall victim to tricksters like those.
The video sparked outrage on Wednesday over the callous treatment Ndabezitha had been subjected to. Social activist lawyer Tumi Sole rallied the troops on Twitter after making contact with Ndabezitha and his boss, Wayne Smith.
Sole shared Ndabezitha’s bank account details and the donations quickly started flooding in.
On Thursday morning, Nedbank decided to make a contribution, saying Nedbank executive Buli Ndlovu was touched when he heard Ndabezitha’s story while listening to Bongani Bingwa’s breakfast show on Radio 702.
“This prompted a pledge by Nedbank to match contributions made by the end of the day today, September 10. It’s truly a gesture about making a difference where we can, both as individuals and corporates,” the bank said.
Speaking to IOL on Thursday, Ndabezitha said although Nedbank had not yet spoken to him about the matter, he had heard rumours about it and was very happy about the gesture.
IOL