A Kenyan man has received plaudits from far and wide after he reversed Ksh34,000 mobile money he accidentally received.
Sylvester Slyce, on Thursday, June 3, shared screengrabs of the messages showing that got the money from one Agnes Mueni Musyoka at 10:38 am.
He sent back the money two hours later after the sender failed to contact him over the cash.
"The lady sent me Ksh34000, but siwezi tumia pesa sijachokea (I haven't worked for). I waited for her to reverse the cash (but she didn't).
“Wakenya tujizoeshe kula jasho letu and God will always bless us. (My fellow Kenyans, let us get used to eating from our own sweat and God will bless us," he urged.
Slyce was praised for his kind-hearted gesture, with many noting that he never requested a favour nor gift from the sender.
"Wow if Kenya had 100 people like you, we would be in a better country," Vivian Warren lauded.
"Integrity is a virtue," Jackson Muriuki added.
Other Kenyans seized the moment to share their experiences of receiving money from strangers and sending money to unknown people accidentally.
Zitto Kabwe stated that she returned Ksh63,000 to a woman who was to pay for 100 bags of cement. The lady's husband, she stated, bought her a complete set of DStv gadget plus a two months subscription.
"Last Monday (in June) another one sent me Ksh7,0000 and I reversed the money. How do you even start planning for someone’s money knowing clearly that it’s not yours?" Sony Mumo wondered, adding that she sent them an additional Ksh500 after learning that the Ksh7,000 was to be used to clear hospital bills.
Mwangi Elijah recalled that he received Ksh40,000 from a stranger. However, he refunded Ksh35,000 as he had a Ksh500 mobile money loan. Anita Maina alleged that she got Ksh30,000 in an ATM machine, took the money but returned it to the back a day later and the owner was traced.
"I did the same with Ksh43,000 from a Maasai. He rewarded me with two goats," Anderson Mchoo chipped in.
Jeff Nderu stated that he has witnessed strangers withdrawing money received accidentally and later on, switch off their mobile phones or disable their lines.
Sonnie Lisah concurred, alleging that she sent Ksh50,000 to a church through a wrong paybill number. The pastor reportedly declined to refund her, forcing her to seek the intervention of the telecom company and the police.
One can reverse an M-Pesa transaction by forwarding the message to 456. A customer can also call Safaricom Customer care through toll-free number 100. M-Pesa reversals take up to 24 hours upwards.
