Zimbabwean author, 64, discovered begging on streets of Glasgow

A Zimbabwean author has been discovered begging on the streets of Glasgow, according to reports in his homeland.

64-year-old Michael Donaldson Mhike, a grandfather, is believed to have arrived in Scotland back in 2004, and has been begging on the streets since 2016 after “things went bad”, The Zimbabwe Mail reports.

His predicament has been highlighted by Human Rights pressure group Team Pachedu, who posted a video on Twitter last week of the author speaking to a concerned local while begging on what appears to be Woodlands Road in the west end of the city.

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The tweet accompanying the video reads: “Zimbabwean 64-year-old Michael Donaldson Mhike is surviving by begging on the streets of Glasgow, Scotland. He is an author and has books on Amazon. He has been in Scotland since 2004, but started begging in 2016.

“Let’s help our own.”

In the video, Mr Mhike, in response to questions posed by the local, says: “I am an author as I am sitting here. I have written two books which are available on Amazon. I’m going to write the third one. The first one is ‘My life in Africa”. The author is Michael Donaldson Mhike, that’s me. The second book is ‘Walking into a pub in Glasgow’.

“This is my 17th year here. I’m not allowed to work and that’s why I’m begging. I’ve just a brother and I’ve been looking after all the widows and children. They look at me to give them even a penny because I am the last father. I have a family, boys and grandchildren.”

The Zimbabwe Mail also report that Mr Mhike is from the small town of Santayi, in Mashonaland West Province, in northern central Zimbabwe, and has not returned to his homeland since arriving in Scotland.