Lawrence Kananji, a brave Table View petrol attendant, rushed to the defence of an elderly woman as she was being attacked and almost robbed.

Kananji, originally from Malawi and now a petrol attendant at Engen Rietvlei Service Centre, saw the woman being attacked and rushed to her aid, managing to save her, earlier in August.

The woman had been walking past her attackers' parked car in Ascot Road, Table View. The occupants of the vehicle leapt out, flung her to the ground and attempted to rob her.

READ: A Mzansi #WomenDay success story: How a simple smile at a petrol pump changed it all for Vuyi Mukhari

Kananji said: "I saw the blue car parked along the road and was walking towards it when I saw a guy jump out and attack the woman. They threw her to the ground and were beating her as they tried to steal things from her. I ran towards them and when they saw me they jumped into the car and drove off. They were pointing something at me, but I couldn't see what it was."

Kananji flagged down motorist Glenn Bradfield to take the woman home.

'My hero for the day'



Bradfield's subsequent Facebook post has, to date, been liked more than 15 000 times and it has been shared by nearly 11 000 people.



Image: Facebook/Glenn Bradfield

Some of the positive messages include: "You restore my faith in humankind", "What a superstar" and "May you be protected always".

Kananji said: "I just wanted to save the woman from them. I never thought about anything else."

Image: Facebook/Glenn Bradfield

Owner of the service centre Costa Petsas said: "He just arrived at work and never told a single person what had happened. Now he's become something of a celebrity and I'd like him to know how very proud I am.

"Other than being taken out for a celebratory dinner by Petsas, many good Samaritans have also contacted the company with a view to making donations to Kananji. He has also since been sponsored a bicycle so he no longer has to walk to work."

Engen also acknowledged "hero" Kananji's selfless action by presenting him with a gift card.