“South Africa’s most articulate beggar” and viral sensation Bonga Sithole now has a roof over his head and a new gig after blowing up on social media.
“I tend to intermigrate and interperambulate vicinities in close proximity.” Those are the now-famous words that shot homeless man, Bonga Sithole into the spotlight.
The eloquent and erudite (having or showing knowledge) Sithole went viral as people took videos of him, which were shared on social media.
Mzansi’s "most articulate beggar" carved out a living in Auckland Park, Johannesburg by asking for money and food from passing motorists. He was well-known by students at the nearby University of Johannesburg campus.
Watch:
"Embracing is grace on a regular basis regardless of domestic and social circumstance" - Bonga Sithole🌴![CDATA[]]>💯 pic.twitter.com/SaxPWLVQQQ
— Reekville Expressions (@reekville_88) November 10, 2022
In an interview with YouTube’s Nkululeko n Cultr, Sithole revealed that his parents split up when he was still a child and he had to spend time between Zola, where his mother was and Rustenburg, where his dad lived.
Sithole said he went to an Afrikaans school and his future looked bright.
“From a tender age, I had a very broad cerebral. My father loved me for that. He tried his best to invest in the growth of my education,” he told the show’s host, Nkululeko Nkewu.
However, he recalled that his troubles with homelessness started when his father, a taxi boss, was shot dead.
According to him, he was supposed to be the heir to the taxi business, but he heard rumours of people plotting his murder and he had to flee for his life. As a result he was not able to finish high school and dropped out in Grade 9.
“The taxi industry can be very mean, to the point where my own family was disputing over my father’s estate. I was his only son and I had to carry on his legacy,” he said to Nkewu.
Sithole has now landed a voice over gig with finance specialist company Fundi. The organisation first appealed to social media users to find the elusive Sithole.
Dozens of people helped by alerting them to where they had just spotted him and he was found.
Watch:
Help Us Find Bonga!! Thank you @Mrssafinalist2022 on TikTok for capturing this video. #FindBonga
— Official_FUNDI (@Official_FUNDI) November 3, 2022
We are looking for Bonga Sithole, if you know how we could reach him, please comment below & share. We would like to help😍 Help us find him! pic.twitter.com/U6c2B1OaNm
Fundi also gave Sithole a laptop for him to use.
Ayanda Qwabe-Coutaud, an advocate, also contributed to providing Sithole with shelter. She allegedly assisted him in obtaining a temporary ID and opening a bank account that accepts donations.
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