It’s the kind of story that reminds you why we started our EmpowerSA series in the first place — ordinary South Africans doing small, decent things that add up to something bigger.
On Tuesday morning in Fourways, Johannesburg, attorney Sharné Zimri — owner of Zimri Attorneys — was out on her regular run when she spotted a lost iPhone lying on Straight Street in Pineslopes.
A fellow jogger, a complete stranger, had noticed it too. The two happened to cross paths at the same spot.
He held the phone up while Sharné took a photo, then left it with her before continuing on his way.
Sharné then posted a photo of the lost iPhone on X (formerly Twitter), asking her followers to retweet it so the owner could be tracked down. She also said the phone could be collected from her directly.
She reached out to fellow legal practitioner Tumi Sole, whose large following helped the post travel further. When the first attempt did not turn anything up immediately, Sharné shared a second photo from the phone’s lock screen.
It showed three women smiling together.
Sharné asked if anyone recognised them.
The post eventually reached the phone owner’s family, with her sisters and mother getting in touch with Sharné. But it was ultimately a colleague who got things moving by calling the lost number directly.
Sharné shared her contact details, and the owner reached out to arrange a handover.
Interestingly, she had not even realised that her phone was missing until that call came through.
Not long after, Sharné posted a warm update — prayer-hands emojis and all — saying she had spoken to the owner and the two had arranged to meet.
The story, as shown in the below X thread, ended on the sweetest note: a photo of Sharné and the phone’s owner sitting together, smiling.
“She’s got her phone back 💗 Thank you all for the kind messages. I appreciate it 🙏🙏🙏”
It’s a simple, feel-good reminder from Fourways that a little kindness, a viral post and a community willing to hit retweet can bring a lost phone — and two strangers — together.
How Sharné found the lost iPhone in Fourways
Sharné’s own account captures the hesitation that came before the happy ending.
NOWinSA’s Temoso Mokoena spoke to Sharné about the chance discovery, the social-media search and the eventual reunion.
Listen to the full interview with Sharné below.
Full interview transcript:
“So I was running this morning, and towards the end of my run I did actually see the phone. But I actually ran past the phone, and my mind was focused on that (running).
“My first thought was, ‘We live in South Africa, don’t get involved in things that have got nothing to do with you.’
“So I finished my run. The phone wasn’t lying far from where I finished my run.
“Then I just had a thought in my mind saying, ‘What if it’s you? What if it was your phone that you had lost?’
“So I went back, and when I turned back, another runner had just picked up the phone. He said to me, ‘Is this your phone?’
“I said, ‘No, but I was coming back to find the owner.’
“That’s when we kind of took a picture of the phone — I was holding it in my hand — and he asked if he could leave it with me. I said fine.
“And then I posted it on Twitter (now X), and I asked @Tumisole to amplify it as well because he kind of has a huge following.
“An hour later, her colleague phoned the phone. I spoke to her, and everything got together. Her mom phoned, then her sister.
“Then eventually I spoke to her. We made an arrangement to meet up, but that didn’t work for her. So I then went to drop her phone back at her workplace.
“And she was very happy.
“She said she didn’t know that she had lost the phone. She found out only when her colleague phoned her.
“She’s extremely busy, that is what she said. She’s very busy, she works for one of the busy SOEs, where you work work.
“I think she might not have known; she might have been walking towards the transport where they were picking her up for work.
“When I spoke to her, she was just so frantic that she got the phone. She was very happy and relieved, as she explained that she’s not in a position where she would be able to buy another phone.”
A lost phone, a viral post and a stranger’s kindness
What started as a routine run through Fourways turned into an unexpected community effort.
Sharné could have kept running when she first spotted the phone. Instead, she turned back.
Another stranger had already picked it up. Then came the social media post, the retweets, the phone calls from the owner’s family and, eventually, the handover.
The story shows how quickly a small act of kindness can become a community effort when people are willing to help.
We are leaving the phone owner identified only as “Sne”, out of respect for her privacy given her position at a major South African state-owned enterprise.
For NOWinSA, the story also captures what the EmpowerSA series is about: recognising people who make a positive difference through ordinary acts that might otherwise go unnoticed.
As we describe the series:
“Empowering South Africa is at the heart of what we do at NOWinSA, and whenever we encounter remarkable individuals going above and beyond for this breathtaking nation, we proudly spotlight their inspiring efforts right here!”
This Fourways lost-iPhone story is exactly that kind of moment — small in scale, but meaningful to the people involved.
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