Mwea waiter stumbles upon Sh60, 000, returns it to customer

Eva Karendi during her interview at Nice Digital Hotel, Mwea. [Photo: Phares Mutembei]

When Eva Karendi found a thick purse left by a customer at Nice Digital Hotel, Mwea, she was at first thrown into panic mode, thinking it was a bomb.

Eva, who is a waiter by profession, hesitantly checked what was inside the purse and was shocked to find thousands of crisp Sh1, 000 notes stacked inside.

The 23-year-old born again Christian was thrown aback but was not tempted to keep the money.

As it turned out, the money had been accidentally dropped by Dr. Esther Mbaabu, a tutor at Meru Teachers College, who has just been transferred to the Bishop Lawi Imathiu Day School, in North Imenti.

Yesterday, Eva and Esther were a happy lot, and now say they have become ‘very good friends’.

Esther says she misplaced the money after dropping her daughter in school on Saturday.

She went on to explain that the money was for a group of orphans she supports, and she was supposed to send the money to the orphans' caregivers.

“My husband and I had a meal at Nice Digital Hotel and made our way back to his car. I had not realized I had carried my purse into the hotel. I also did not have to, since I was not the one footing the bill for the meal. It was only after he dropped me at the Heritage Hotel at Nkubu that we realised my purse was not in the car,” recounted Esther.

Worried that she had lost such a big amount of money meant for destitute children, she googled and obtained the contacts of the hotel.

“One Mr. Kariuki picked the phone but since he was not at the hotel, promised to call back after checking if a lost purse had been found. He called back to give me the good news that my purse had been found and the money was intact,” she said.

Esther says she opted not to travel back to Nice Digital Hotel since it was late, but made her way back there on Sunday, and found Eva, the hotel’s director, Njiru Mkombozi and his wife.

“I was so happy that they found the money and kept it safe for me. I wanted to meet the young girl because what she did was so unselfish, and kind. Eva and I have become good friends. She is from a humble background and I want to support her to upgrade her education,” she said.