Who is Mzansi’s guardian angel Bi Phakathi?
He goes viral weekly thanks to his heart-warming videos, but Bi Phakathi has revealed that he has no plans on revealing his identity.
Bi Phakathi has, for years, shared inspirational and heart-warming videos of himself doing good for his community. Each video sees Phakathi come across a person in dire financial situations and showcases how one person can change the life of another by offering a helping hand.
However, while a recent social media campaign has tried to unmask this hero, Phakathi has revealed that he won’t be sharing his identity and promises to let his charitable actions do the talking.
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“In my book, a real hero is someone who hides their identity and does good deeds for no sort of recognition,” Phakathi said to IOL when asked why he refuses to unmask himself.
Throughout the years, the Bi Phakathi Facebook page has uploaded thousands of videos which show a man donating money, buying groceries, and even helping to pay the rent of those less fortunate than he is.
He has also paid for makeovers for homeless people, paid university fees for students, and even helped reunite a homeless family.
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I understand being a public figure you end up being viewed as a celebrity, but I am not a celebrity. What I do is humanitarian work, the good deeds should be a priority more than the messenger,” he said. “For me to be invisible is for everyone to be inspired that if a man with no identity can help everyone, I can also do it and I have seen people sharing their stories and showing credit to the BI Phakathi figure.
The masked hero adds: “I have chosen not to reveal myself because it can drive the attention away from the purpose, which is to share good news and inspire people to help other people. If we can do more good as South Africans, then the world will be inspired to uplift the poor too.”
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Phakathi says that he is not surprised to see a growing interest by his over one-million Facebook followers to get a deeper look into who he is.
It’s not even bothering me because I understand that when you are famous people want to see you, where you live, where you studied, who you know, how much your net worth is, are you married,” he says. “That is too personal for me. I am just a messenger of good news, not a celebrity.
The superhero adds that people should rather spend their time on doing good themselves and be inspired by how much one person can make a difference.
People need help, more people are suffering. With retrenchments, people are losing their houses and they’re hungry. Let us encourage more good deeds rather than making it a one-man show. This work should continue even when I am gone.
Main image courtesy of iStock