Hero bus driver returns ring

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 while getting out of her car on June 11.

He decided to stop the bus and pick it up.

“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.

Mayoral Committee Member for the Transport and Urban Development Authority‚ councillor Brett Herron‚ handed a certificate of gratitude to Maqubela on Wednesday in appreciation. —